Someday
by mintygreeny
Summary: Six years later she is an employee at Wal-Mart. Something happened after Spokane which made her leave and never return or have any contact with her past. So she's living a whole new life now. But when someone sees her, will her cover be blown? -Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone. I just felt like writing a new story. I hope you like this story.

And I'm just saying in advance, I'm sorry if my information isn't that accurate in some things. I do live in Finland after all.

There will be a lot of flashbacks in the start and I won't be marking the flashbacks, but you will know which are flashbacks because they are in italics.

So remember, the Italics are flashbacks.

But enjoy the first chapter,

* * *

I woke up again at six in the mornignt to do my usual morning necessities. I had to be at work by seven thirty. The first two times I was late, I got yelled by my supervisor and almost got fired. So if I was late again, I would definitely be fired. My supervisor totally hated me. His name is Gary Sommers. He was this tall, paleish, green eyed guy with brown hair and in his mid-thirties. He has hated me from the day I started at work. He had said that he knew from the look of me that I was a trouble maker. It was rude to say the least, but he was also right. I was a trouble maker - hence, I _was_.

Ever since I left my old life behind at the Academy, my life has completely changed. I wasn't the same badass novice in training I used to be. I still had some of my attitude, but I was beginning to soften as time went by. I still kept myself in shape by going to the gym though. I went to the gym every day mostly to kill the time and trained and trained. Sometimes I would stick around for who knows how long.

I was having a normal day at work again. I worked at the counter of Wal-Mart and did my job in silent. Every now and then some old lady would start a conversation and I would plaster a fake smile on my face and talk back to them. I wasn't that rude to blow off some nice old lady.

After six years, I live in Pennsylvania now, all the way the other side of the country. I had to get as far away as possible. I had hitched a ride from a nice seeming man.

_I walked and walked up the road somewhere in Wyoming. I wasn't quite sure how I had gotten here. I had passed out or rather someone had hit me in the house in Spokane. Then when I woke up I was somewhere in the woods laying on the snow with a note beside me and a stake. I picked the note to my hand and read it._

_Hello dear,_

_I just wanted you to know that you are at the moment laying on the ground in Wyoming. That might help you when you find a way to leave as far away as possible from Montana. _

_I though it would also be nice to warn you that you better not come back. Come back, and I will kill you and your little friend. And maybe even that nice Russian man you seem so interested in. No, I will not kill him, I will turn him. You wouldn't want that, now would you? _

_I though so._

_Since I am not as evil as most of my fellow strigoi, I left you a stake to deal with. Appreciate what you have and that you are still alive and I didn't kill you. _

_With luck,_

_N._

_I was staring at the note in my hands. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Tears built up in my eyes as I read the letter over and over again. I couldn't go back. That was what kept running over and over in my head. _I couldn't go back_..._

_I felt like crying, but the tears just wouldn't flow. My eyes didn't let them by. I had to leave here. I had to get as far away as possible. I didn't want anyone to find me nor did I wanted anyone killed...especially Lissa and Dimitri. They were the most important people in my life and I couldn't forgive myself if I let them die. I would die myself._

_I walked through the woods and found myself in the side of a dirt road. I have no idea where I am, but I guess that isn't relevant. I walked down the road until nightfall. I was suddnely scared. What if I got attacked by strigoi? I'l glad N at least left me a stake. If I had nothing I would already be dead. I kept going nonetheless. Nothing has happened so far, which I was thankful for. As I walked only a few cars passed me by, three in fact, none of them stopping to help me. How rude._

_It was somewhere in the middle of the night when a car approached from behind. I sighed and didn't bother flagging it down. Whoever was there would probably just drive past again. But it didn't. The car fell in tow with me and the driver rolled down the window. I didn't stop walking, I kept going on. In the drivers seat was a man who looked to be about forty or so. He was tan. He had blue welcoming eyes and black hair that showed grayed hair as well. To me, he looked like a older and tanner version of Christian which made me inwardly smile._

_"Do you need a ride?" the man asked me. I stopped and stared at the man. I smiled weakly and nodded my head. "Well come on, get in." He said with a warm smile. I did as he said and got in the front seat next to the man. "I'm Dean." He introduced himself extending his hand to me. I took it and shook his hand._

_"Rose." I only said. Dean started driving along the road again. It was silent at first._

_"So where exactly are you heading? What happened to you, you look pretty badly bruised up?" he asked me. I didn't know what to say to that. I had no destination and I couldn't exactly tell him what happened, but I can always edit._

_"Nowhere in particular. Just as far away from here as possible." I murmured. He seemed surprised by this, but nodded his head. "And to answer your second question, I was kidnapped by some men. I managed to get away though." I said. He gasped and stared at me though wide eyes. _

_"Oh my god, I am so sorry. Do you need to go to the hospital? Did you brake anything? Where do you live, dear, I'll take you home." All of his questions were giving me a headache, but I managed to answer them without avail._

_"I'm fine, I don't need to go to the hospital. And all of my bones are perfectly fine. I have no home anymore." I whispered the last part. That was in a sence, true. I didn't have a home anymore, not because I had to leave. I so wish I could go back, but it seems so impossible to me at the moment. _

_"If you need a place to stay, you can come stay with me. I live in Iowa. It's a few days away, but if you want you can come stay with me there."_

_"It's okay, I don't want to be a burden." I murmured. I wrapped my arms around myself. I was feeling a little cold. Dean noticed this and grabbed a blanket from the back seat and handed it to me._

_"Don't be silly. I'd be happy to help you. Now sleep, you need to rest. I will wake you up when I make my first stop in the morning." He said and I nodded. I was too weak to argue with him. Instead I gave up and fell asleep silently. _

_I was having a dream. At least that's what I though it was. I was in Lissa's room back in the Academy. Or more like Lissa was in her own room. She was sobbing onto a person I realized to be Christian. He was comforting her. She felt utter depression and I could feel the darkness creeping up in her. I felt panicked. I didn't want her to lose it and start cutting herself again. That wouldn't be good at all. _

_There were also other people in the room. From Lissa's thoughts I found out that Eddie and Dimitri were there too. They were all grieving for my 'death'. That's what I found out. In Lissa's eyes Dimtiri was the worst of the others. I serched through her mind and found out that he had completely lost it when he found out I was gone. I saw the images in her head. They were terrefying. _

_I was causing so much pain to them. Just by leaving. If only they knew I was alive...not dead nor strigoi. I wanted to be there, to comfort all of them and tell them everything was alright. I wanted them to know the truth. That's not possible._

_With a last one glance, I got out of Lissa's head and said goodbye to my old life. I will never see them again after this. To them I would be dead. To me, they will alway be in my heart...but just far away. _

_I was woken up by Dean the next morning. He said we were stopping at a diner to eat. I was feeling quite hungry so I was eager. We sat back next to a window waiting for the waitress. Dean told me to get anything I wanted. Being me, I tried to object, but he insisted guessing I was pretty hungry which I sure was. I got beacon and eggs, blueberry pancakes and some orange juice. Dean laughed at my appetite but said nothing about it._

_"Where are you from, Rose?" he asked me at one point._

_"Missoula." I said. He nodded his head and though for a moment._

_"So that's where you were kidnapped, right?" he asked. I shook my head frowning slightly. "I'm sorry, you don't need to answer me. I'm being quite rude." He said._

_I shook my head again. "No, it's fine. Um, no, it wasn't in Missoula. It was actually in Spokane. I was there with some of my friends and we got kidnapped. One of my friends got killed while the other managed to get away. Me though, I got taken somewhere in Wyoming." I explained. His eyebrows scrunched up. He was thinking. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at me again._

_"So why don't you go back to your friends?" he asked._

_"It's complicated." I murmured. He nodded and left the topic after that seeing I was done talking about it. _

_We got in the car again when we finished eating. He drove while I rested my head against the headrest and closed my eyes again. I was feeling exhausted. I felt like I could sleep forever if that was possible. I knew it was possible...when you died._

_The next time I woke up It was daytime the next day. I had wasted a whole day by sleeping. But it's not like I could've done anything anyway since I was in a car. Dean noticed me awake and told me that we were getting close and would be there by nightfall. Good, I thought. We made small talk as time went by. I found out a lot about him and the other way around. It was strange how I felt like I could trust him. I felt like I have known him for a long time and could tell him almost anything. _

_The sun was setting and we arrived at Dean's house. It was really nice. It was normal sized and comfy. "Come on, I'll show you to your room." He said leading me up the stairs. He led me down the hallway to a guest room. "You can stay here. The bathroom is thorugh those doors, I suggest you have a nice calming bath." He said and smiled at me. "I will get you something to wear and place the clothes on your bed so when you get back from the bathroom there would be some clothes waiting for you." He said. I nodded and decided that a bath would work just perfectly. I walked to the bathroom and started the water. I stripped down from my clothes and sank in the warm water. It felt wonderful on my tense muscles._

_I sat there for a long time and relaxed._


	2. Chapter 2

Hi,

It's good to know there's some people actually reading this. If no one read this, I wouldn't post this here. But I would still keep writing the story though :)

Thank you for those who reviewd, it means so much!

Enjoy the chapter,

* * *

I was sitting at the storage room taking my break. Everyday I got to take a break in a total of an hour. Right now, I've been sitting here for the past fifteen minutes. I knew I should've eaten something, but I couldn't make myself do it. I was too lost in my own thoughts. The door of the storage room cracked open. I looked up and it was Vic.

Vic is the first person I got to know here. We've been pretty much best friends ever since I started here. He has a nice chocolate brown skin and dark brown eyes with really short dark brown hair. He was the one to introduce himself first and show me around on my first day. He was really sweet and had a really good heart. I think he actually liked me in our first years together, but he learnt afterwards that I had no intensions with him what so ever. He was okay with it and never said anything about it. Now we just look back at those times and laugh.

He sat down next to me on the floor where I saw sitting at. He nudged me lightly on the shoulder and game me a small smile. I returned it and chuckled. "Hey." I murmured.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked. Always so thoughtful.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." I said. He didn't say anything for a while. He got up from the floor and extended his hand to me.

"Come on, let's get something to eat. You are not gonna starve yourself again like that last time. You get very cranky when you're hungry." He said playfully. I laughed and took his hand and got up. I wiped the dust off my clothes and linked his arm with mine.

"Well let's go then." We left the storage room and to the staff room. Christy and Jake were sittign at the couch chatting. They were kinda together. They kept going on and off all the time and at the moment the light switch was on. We said hi and walked over to them. I sat down on the couch opposite Christy and Jake while Vic got our lunch. I had taken a sandwich and an energy drink from home. Energy drinks are not that healthy but I needed something to keep me awake.

I've been having troubles sleeping again. It was strange. I usually don't have problems sleeping, but once a year this time period would start when I would keep having nightmares and have sleepless nights. I would be very tired in the morning and barely keep awake. I managed to get though the day easily though. And even though I was exhausted, I still went to the gym. I had to work out every day to keep myself in shape. Sometimes Vic came to the gym with me just to keep me company. He liked to work out too. And another great thing about that is that he used to do tae kwan do, so we could train together fighting too.

"God, Rose, did you get any sleep last night at all?" Christy asked me all of a sudden.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "No, I did not get any sleep last night nor have I gotten any sleep the past week." I answered sounding quite irritated.

"Oh, realx. Sorry, I won't be asking that again." She said teasingly. I chuckled and shook my head as I took another bite of my sandwich. Chicken sandwich...yum.

We ate our lunch and chatted away for the last of our free time. When our one hour was up we all went back to work. I was putting some canned food on shelves when I spotted something. From a gap I saw a flash or silky brown hair I knew all too well and smelt a rush of an aftershave I knew even better. My eyes widened and I suddnely panicked. I started shuffling and I hit the box of cans on the floor. I held my foot while I cussed. Damn that hurt. I saw Vic on the other side of the ail watching me curiously.

"Rose, are you okay?" he asked coming closer to me. I panicked.

"Shut up!" I hissed at him as I started running towards him and straight past him. He took a hold of my hand in an attempt of stopping me but instead I started dragging him away with me. He was protesting and asking me what the hell I was doing, but I kept quiet. I could feel a pair of eyes boring onto the back of my head, but I ignored it. I ran around the store doing zig-zags like going through a maze and finally ended up at the staff room. I opened the door and shut it behind me. I leaned against the door and took steady breaths in and out. All this time Vic just looked at me like I was crazy - which I probably was.

"Okay, Rose, talk! What is going on here?" he demanded. He had that look on his face that said not to mess around and tell the truth. I sighed and grimaced.

"Sorry, it's just that...I..." I didn't know what to tell him. No one here really knew about my past life nor where I exactly came from. All they know is that my name is Rosemarie Hathaway, I'm 23-years old and I come from Montana. And then there's the other basic things like likes and dislikes...but other than that, no one really knew about my past background. I never really told them anything.

"I saw someone from my past." I whispered

_"You're slowing down Rose!" Dimtiri yelled at me. We were running at the track and I was nearly out of breath. One of these days he was going to kill me with these trainings._

_I pushed my kegs harder and harder until I matched Dimitri's pace once again. He nodded his head in approaval and kept running. I was trying so hard to keep up with him and not fall back behind. I didn't want to disappoint him any more than I already have today. I came late for training and completely failed when we were sparring and now this. It was enough disappoitment for one day. _

_We finally finished running and when we stopped I was completely out of breath. Dimitri said we'd go back inside and told me to go first. As I walked past him, I tripped over a stone. I tripped over a freaking stone! I was getting ready for the incoming impact of the stony ground, but it never came. A pair of strong warm arms caught me before I could hit the ground. I found myself staring into the familiar brown eyes I loved. We stared at each other and I swear I saw something flash in his eyes. He seemed to realize that he was still holding onto me and he helped me up and let go. He cleared his throat and said we'd better get inside._

"Who did you see?" Vic asked me. He sounded irritated now. I think I zoned out for a moment.

"No one. Let's go before we get in trouble." I murmured. He was confused of the way I was acting, but let it go.

We walked out of the room and just had to run straight into our supervisor, Gary.

"What are you two doing here? Get back to work!" he yelled at us.

"Sorry, I forgot something, it won't happen again." I said quickly and we were out. We walked very quickly back to where we were supposed to be. Vic said bye and told me to hang on. I will, I told myself.

All the time I worked around the store I couldn't help but feel a little paranoid. I was on full alert all the time and kept glancing around me making sure no one was there. It felt like someone would be watching me from afar, but I didn't let it quite get to me. I kept my head straight and finished my work quickly. I was finally free to go.

I met up with Vic back at the staff room. We made plans to go to the gym together after work and work out. I couldn't wait to get my hands on that punching bag. I wanted to hit something so badly. Anger, sadness and anxiety boiled up in me then. I drove the car to the gym and Vic seemed a little frightened on my sudden change of mood. I was driving very fast to get there. The drive lasted only for about fifteen minutes. Thanks for my insane driving. I parked the car and we got out. Vic was staring at me with wide eyes. He didn't say anythign though, he just kept his gaze straight ahead and turned around to the gym. I laughed a little of his reaction and followed.

We both had memberships at the gym and every one pretty much knew us. There were a lot of guys who strangely admired me and most of the time came to me asking for advise in training. I usually helped them though. It was nice to know that you could help people in a some kind of way.

I was getting that strange feeling again like someone was watching you. I kept glancing around the gym trying to find the person. I was feeling quite paranoid again. Why did I keep feeling like someone was watching me? I walked over to the punching bag and I think I smelt the same aftershave I smelt earlier at work. He couldn't be here, could he? Why would he anyway. He wouldn't have followed me, right? Or maybe I was imagining it all along. Maybe he wasn't even at the store.

My anger boiled and I started hitting the bag. I kept hitting it and hitting it until a hole emerged. I grimaced when I stopped and actually looked at the damage I had done. I looked around me and people were staring. I gave them apologising smiles and walked over to Vic who was lifting weights in front of the long mirror. I murmured him a hey and joined him in the weight lifting.

"Hey Rosie, what happened with the punching bag over there?" Vic asked me looking actually amused.

"Ugh, I have no idea. I just got mad and really, I didn't even notice me hitting that hard." I confessed which made him laugh.

"At least you took it out on something, not someone. If you managed that much damage on a punching bag, you would have probably killed a person with that kind of force." He joked. It would have been funny if I hadn't actually killed before in my life. I started to remember the night in Spokane, but pushed the memory away. I really didn't want to think about that. I was probably going to kill another punching bag as well.

"Hey, loosen up. Stop being so tense all the time." Vic said and punched me lightly on the arm. He was right. I needed to loosen up a little. I was losing it. I was becoming seriously stressed. But I can't help it that I feel being watched. It's bugging the hell out of me. If I keep think up, I will end up in a mental hospital.

"You know, I get this strange feeling that someone is watching me. I've been having that same feeling since midday." I told him. He started laughing. It was so annoying when I was being completely serious he would just laugh at me. I hate him for that, but he's still a best friend of mine.

"Hey, don't you dare laugh at me! I'm being completely serious here. I'm pretty sure someone has been following me since I was at work. Really." But now his face had gone completely serious too.

"I'm sorry, don't worry, it's probably just the nerves picking up on you. Remember it's that time of the year again. Knowing you for the past five years, I know you go though the same thing every year the same time of the year. Now I don't know what it is that happened to you back home, but it must be something traumatizing. You'll get over it. Time eazes the pain." He told me while putting his hand on my shoulder. I gave a small grateful smile. "Now come here and give me a hug." He pulled me to him and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back harder. "Don't crush my bones." He murmured. I laughed and pulled away. We kept practicing our moves after that.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello,

Wow, I was surprised by the reviews I got from the 2nd chapter. And I was happily surprised! Imagine my excitement when I looked though them.

And it was funny how people already assume it was Dimitri (-: Well, I won't say anything about that. And to every one who wants Dimitri, you will have to wait for that.

Here is my next chapter. I hope you like it.

Enjoy,

* * *

It was a long night for me again. I kept having the same nightmare I did last night and the past week. I kept turning around in my bed trying to find a good spot to fall asleep in. I got up from bed to get a glass of water and then got back to bed. When I realized I wouldn't be getting any sleep again, I gave up trying and got up. I walked over to my window still to open the window. Maybe some fresh air would help. I let the air breeze though me and I kept glancing around outside and the sky. It was shining so beautifully tonight.

I heard ruffling in the bushes beside my house. I searched the bushes but saw nothing. My eyes narrowed suspiciously at that. I might be paranoid, but I'm pretty sure someone was following me. Watching me at the latest. When I saw nothing I pushed it aside and memorized my first day with Dean in Iowa.

_I woke up about 2 pm the next day. You'd think after many hours of tight sleep in the car I wouldn't be that tired anymore, but I was. I was stuck in my warm bed. I didn't feel like getting up at all. The bed was so soft and warm...it was a nice change for the walking I've been doing. I decided I'd get up though. Since I was going to live here for some time, I might as well look around. I hope Dean didn't mind. _

_I put on the jeans and plain white t-shirt he had given me. I wondered how he had clothes that fit me. Did she have a teengae daughter or something perhaps? I would ask about that later. I walked out of the room not sure if Dean was still awake. I carefully made my way down the stairs. I peaked around every room and didn't see him anywhere. That's until I heard soft sounds of snores coming from a room. I walked closer and noticed the room door was open. I peeked in and saw him laying on a couch with one foot over the edge and the other under it. It looked funny, but I decided I would let him sleep. He drove for a long time without sleep himself so I wouldn't bother him. To show my gratitude towards him, I decided I would make some breakfast, or lunch that is._

_I walked to the kitchen and searched though the fridge and closets looking for ingredients. I had cooked a lot with Lissa when we were on the run for two years. So I had some experience. At first I pretty much burned everything, but Lissa tought me to cook properly. Just the thought of Lissa burned a hole in my heart. If I wasn't careful, the burn would get worse. _

_I took everything I needed out and started on my breakfast special. I made some omelettes on a pan, put some bread in the toaster and put the coffee to boil. I set the table ready and finished the food. If right on cue, Dean walked sleepily though the door frame and into the kitchen. "Good morning," I said and smiled at him. _

_"Good morning...you made breakfast." He said. It wasn't a question, more like an assumption. _

_"Yeah, thought I'd make some." I said. He had a sad smile on his lips I wondered about. "Go take a seat." I told him and he did so. I placed the cup of coffee in front of him and the omelette and toast as well. I sat down and ate with him. We both sat there silently eating our food. It tasted wonderful if I may say so myself._

_"You know what this reminds me of?" he asked and I shook my head. "My daughter used to make me breakfast all the time also. Every time I would wake up there'd be breakfast waiting for me with a fresh cup of coffee." He said. And there was that sad smile of his again. I decided since he knew my story I could ask him about his daughter._

_"Where's your daughter now?" I asked softly. A frown increased on his face. It must not be good._

_"She's dead." He whispered. I gasped. "Yeah...she died in an animal attack just last year. It was a horrible death. She already had cancer and she was with her friends at a camping trip when they were attacked. She and one friend of hers died. The others...they survived." He said. That was horrible. But I couldn't help but think that that was similar to our accident except I survived and only Mason died. But to everyone, I would be dead since no one knew I was alive.  
_

_"I'm really sorry." I said and put my hand on his in comfort. He gave a small smile and grasped my hand in his._

_"You remind me an awful lot of my daughter, Rose. She had that spunk in her too. She was very compassionate and curious. I loved her very much. She was the only good thing in my life. Now I have no one. I live in this house all by myself in my misery. I was just driving around from visiting friends in Washington. That's where it happened. It was ,in a way, a memorial ride. I miss her." He said whispering the last part. It was so sad. He had lost his only family he had and now he was alone._

_"Don't worry. If you ever need to talk to anyone, you can talk to me." I told him without thinking and smiled. He smiled too. He got up from his seat and walked over to me. He hugged me then. The hug was more as a fatherly hug than anything else. It was sweet and comforting. He pulled away and smiled once again before he got back to his breakfast._

_"So what are your plans now?" He had asked me when we were sitting in the living room watching TV._

_"Um...I have no idea. My plan was to go somewhere more East. Maybe New Jersey or Pennsylvania." I said unsure. Dean's eyes lit up when I mentioned that._

_"I own a house in Pennsylvania. You could go live there if you wish." He said seeming happy that he could help me out in some way. I smiled at him and hugged him in thanks. _

_"That would be great, thanks." I said._

_He got up from the couch and pulled me up with him. "Come on, we're going shopping." He said. I just had to laugh at that. It's not often you hear a grown man saying we'd be going shopping. "Don't laugh. We need to buy you some clothes to wear and other necessities. You can't expect yourself to survive with just one set of clothes, do you?" He continued and my laugh died down. "Exactly my point, now come on." He said and started draggin me out of the house. It was still funny though. _

_We drove for some time until we got to a mall. Dean kept pulling me everywhere in the shops looking for clothes for me. It was a funny scene. A grown man looking clothes for a teenage girl. "Are you just gonna stand there laughing at me or look for something?" he asked annoyed. I put on my serious face and started looking for clothes. _

_I found some pretty cute clothes. I got a few pair of jeans and sweatpants and some shirts as well and other clothes. Dean had gotten me a dress too just in case I needed it for some occation ro something. You never know, he had said. He said he would make a call to someone who could get me a job at Wal-Mart in Wilkes Barre where his house was located. Really, he was being way too nice for me. He kept buying me stuff and offering me everything I would probably need. He even offered me a car if I wanted to drive down there. _

_He had gotten me an Ipod to use my time with if I got bored. He also got me a laptop to use and a cell phone so he could keep in touch. Was he rich or something? Or did he just miss pampering his daughter? That might be it. Maybe he used to give everything to his daughter and he wanted to do the same to me. He really was a nice man._

_I told him that I would stay with him for a few more days and it was fine with him. I wanted to stay with him and get to know him more. And also stay because I knew he was lonely and had no one. I could see in his eyes that he was grateful that I wanted to stay longer here and that he didn't want me to go either, but I couldn't stay. I needed to get as far away as possible. _

_When I asked Dean if there were any tracks or anything near here, he told me there was a football field at a school that I could run in. It was open for anyone so it was possible. He told me he could take me there if I wanted to, and I did. He drove me to the field and it was huge. I was excited to start running again and try to get myself in shape. I would have to find somewhere to run when I got to Pennsylvania._

_I spent the rest of my day at the field with Dean watching me with a smile on his face. I was getting really tired of runninng but kept going. I was out of breath after a few hours and went to sit beside Dean. "How was your run?" he asked me._

_"It was alright." I said and leaned back and relaxed. I was feeling very hot and sweaty from all the running. Dean's phone rang and he said he'd be right back. I nodded and sat back keeping my eyes closed. A moment later I felt someone sit beside me thinking it was Dean, but when the perosn spoke, it wasn't him._

_"Hello." The voice said. I opened my eyes and looked at the guy sitting there. He had nice blonde hair and blue eyes and had a slight tan. He was cute._

_"Hi..." I said warily._

_"I suspect you don't go to this school?" he said making it sound like a question._

_"No, I guess you could say I'm more on a vacation." I told him smiling._

_"Aah, that's what I thought. I have never seen you here before. So where are you from then?" he asked again._

_I opened my mouth about to answer but shut it then. I was about to say that I'm from Missoula, but in a sense, it wasn't true anymore. I didn't live there anymore and I would be leaving to Pennsylvania in just a few days. So that would be my new home. "Pennsylvania." I said and smiled again. The guy grinned at me._

_"Awesome, ever been to New York?" he asked. _

_"Never." I told him bluntly and he chuckled._

_"Rose, ready to go?" Dean asked walking over to us and eyeing carefully the guy sitting next to me. "What are you doing, Kenny?" he asked him. Oh, so his name is Kenny and Dean knew him._

_Kenny put on a innocent face and held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, I was just talking to her. I didn't even know she was with you." He said. I looked at their exchange carefully and it seemed strange. How exactly did they know each other._

_Dean chuckled and pushed Kenny lightly. "Get out of here."_

_"I'm leaving!" he yelled without looking back as he walked away. I loved his attitude._

_We walked back to the car and got in and headed to Dean's house. Neither of us said a word until we got to the house. "So how do you know him?" I asked when we got inside the house._

_"He was a friend of my daughters..." he said his words drifting off from there._

_"Oh." Was my only answer. I went up to take a shower. I was feeling very dirty with the sweat and everything. I took my time and washed myself thoroughly. I put on the new pyjamas I had bought. I walked back down to the living room to see Dean half asleep. I walked over to him and looked at him thoughtfully._

_"You should get some sleep. And this time in your own bed." I said. He gave a weak smile and stumped upstairs to his room. I went to my own room and fell asleep alsmot immediately due to exhaustion._

There was the same ruffling sound in the bushes again. I averted my gaze trying to see what was out there but saw nothing. Either I was imagining it or this person was really good at hiding. I heavily suspected the second option, but who knows these days.

With a sigh, I closed my window and got back to bed. I was hoping to get at least some sleep so I wouldn't be completely tired at work in the morning. Maybe it would help if I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes. Just that, nothing else and relax. I didn't want to have nightmares again. But I knew I would have and was willing to take it as long as I got some sleep.

And I did fall asleep without any nightmares. Or that's what I thought.


	4. Chapter 4

I thank you again for reviewing, and will keep doing that as long as you do review :)

I see that people are very interested on who is watching her? If anyone. Keep reading the story and that little secret will come out eventually!

Enjoy,

* * *

I was in a house. It was dark and I felt very weak. I walked around the dark house and ended up in a living room. I looked around and saw blood everywhere and broken furniture. Then I looked to the floor and screamed. Mason lay there dead with blood covered all over him. Tears bult up in my eyes but they wouldn't get out. I walked shakily over to Mason's body. I kneeled down next to him and sobbed on his chest. He was dead and it was all my fault.

I heard footsteps nearing me from the other side of the room. I got up fast and grabbed the sword from the floor that was next to Mason. It was a strigoi, I felt it. He walked closer to me with his bloodcurling red eyes. I almost screamed, but didn't. He had this menacing grin on his face. He walked slowly over to me and put his hand softly on mine to take the sword out of my hand and I let him. I freaking let him!

He placed the sword down and stepped closer to me. He leaned in and moved closer to my neck. His fangs grazed the skin of my neck and I was starting to breathe heavily. Then his fangs sinked into my neck and I screamed. I screamed really loud. Bites weren't supposed to hurt! They were supposed to make you high, but this bite...it felt so excrutiating. I felt like dying, but I knew I would die. Soon I would be all out of blood and this would be the end of me. But he didn't finish me. Instead, he took a bite out of his flesh and he was bleeding. He placed his wrist on my mouth and made me drink it. Instictively, I started drinking his blood hungrily. I don't know what was happening. I would never do anything like this, ever.

I passed out and the next time I woke up, I was feeling hungry. Not hungry for food though, but for blood. I got up and I felt the burn In my throat. I was still in the same house I was before. I started hearing footsteps. Someone was coming closer to me and they were dhampirs. Guardians piled into the room and were shocked by what they found. One person stood out the most, and that person was Dimitri. I lunged at him, aiming for his neck, but he dodged and fought back.

He kicked me to the ground and before I could get up, a stake went straight through my heart and I was gasping for air. I couldn't breathe. He killed me, Dimitri killed me. I fell back on the floor and stared wide eyed the god in front of me. The last thing I heard was a simple: "I love you, Roza." before I closed my eyes and let myself drown into the darkness surrounding me.

I sat up in my bed gasping for air. I searched for any kind of marking on my chest and there was none. I rushed up from my bed to the mirror and saw I still had my normal eyes, no ring of red. It was just a dream...nothing but a dream.

I walked to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. I did it to wake me up a little. I so wasn't going to bed anymore. I walked back to my room while wiping my face with a towel and looked at the clock that said it was five in the morning. That would do. I had more than enough time to get ready for work.

I took a long one hour bath and relaxed. I didn't want to get up yet. I was pretty relaxed when my alarm clock went off in my room signaling it to be six in the morning already. I got out from the bath and wrapped a towel around myself. I went back to my room to turn off the clock. Then I dressed myself. I put on a pair of jeans and a red long sleeved shirt. It fit perfectly on my body showing off my curves. It was friday and we were going to hang out tonight, Me, Vic, Christy and Jake and some other dude that works with us. I didn't know his name because I never caught it. He just started a week ago but was great friends with Jake.

I went down to get some breakfast and ate in peace. I made my lunch and put them in my bag. I walked out the front door and headed for my car. I turned around and looked at the house. I smiled and remembered when I first arrived here.

_I was leaving from Dean's place today. He seemed sad that I was leaving. I could tell he liked having me around. Well, I liked being around too. He helped carrying my stuff to the car he had given me. He handed me a credit card as well. "Here, have this. And no, I am giving it to you because you won't survive without any money. Take it and use it to buy food, clothes, anything you need." He said and hugged me._

_"Thank you so much for everything, Dean. This is more than I could ask for and you have given me so much. This all means a lot to me. Come visit me anytime you want to. I'd really like to keep in touch and see you again some day." I said smiling. He looked like he would start crying any moment now. "Please don't cry, you will make me cry too." I said and wiped his tears away. He gave me a last hug and then let go of me. _

_I got in the car and said my last goodbye to Dean and drove off. I gave a last long glance at the house and turned away. I will miss him. A lot._

_I've been driving without a brake for who-knows-how-long and I was somewhere in Indiana by now. It's the middle of the night and I had to stop at a motel somewhere to sleep the night off. I drove around until I found one. It wasn't that crappy and wasn't that nice either, but it would do. As long as I got some sleep. _

_I ate something before I went to sleep and fell asleep quickly - luckily. I had a dreamles sleep and dreamt about nothing. I was happy about that. When I woke up it was about 10 A.M. I yawned and got up from the bed. I had to keep going. I checked out of the motel and continued driving again. I saw this diner on my way and decided it would be good to have some breakfast. I would be driving all day again. _

_I sat at the diner for about two hours eating silently. There was this guy sitting two tables away from me who kept glancing in my direction. It seemed very strange and suspicious if you asked me. He looked kinda familiar, but couldn't quite place him. I shook it off and finished my coffee. I never really liked coffee, but it would keep me awake. I didn't want to fall asleep and crash in some innocent people and kill them. That would be horrible. _

_I left after finishing and drove. I turned on the radio and listened to the music. Some crappy 80s music came on and memories flashed in my head. I remembered the time we were driving to the Badica's that one time with Dimtiri. He had put the radio on and on came 80s music. And right then the song where the video killed the radio star came on. A traitor tear escaped my eyes as I remembered that time. Those were good times when everything was still some what fine with us. _

_I saw the sign that said I was now in Ohio pass me by. Ohio...just one state to go. I drove just under the speed limit. I didn't want to get caught and get a ticket. I didn't want to give Dean any more to pay for. I turned the radio station to something more to the date and a song by Nickelback came on. It was the song 'Someday'. I felt like sheding some tears again as I listened to this song. _

_"Some day, somehow, I'm gonna make it alright but not right now, I know you're wondering when..." I sang along to the song. I know I'm gonna make it...someday._

_I sighed and listened to the radio as I kept driving. The sun had just set a while ago when I arrived there. I was driving through Wilked Barre looking at the surroundings I would be living in. It seemed okay, but it was nothing compared to home. But this was going to be home for me for now. _

_I looked at the address once again and drove where I think it was. The neighbourhood was kinda freaky. All the houses looked so much alike. I had to count the house that I would be living in to remember which one it was so I wouldn't go to the wrong house by accident._

_I parked the car in front of the house and looked at it. It was nice, not that big, but nice. I could live with this._

I parked my car in the parking lot and got out. I walked in the doors of Wal-Mart and was greeted by my best guy friend I have here, Vic. He put his hand around my shoulders and grinned. "Hey, beautiful, how are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Vic." I said and chuckled. He chuckled with me and led me to the staff room so I could place my things there and put on my blue vest. We walked out together and went for our normal routine.

It wasn't until the end of my shift I felt it again. I looked around vigorously but saw no one. What the heck was wrong with me? Someone was definitely messing with my head with all this. Maybe I'll need to go check in with my doctor or something. I was quite accident prone and ended up in the hospital quite often. They gave me the same doctor every time knowing that he knew me the best. But I was going out tonight with the guys so maybe I'll go pay a visit at the hospital tomorrow if I'm feeling well enough. I wonder if there's pills for paranoia?

"So where are we going tonight?" I asked them as we all walked out of the store after work.

"Actually, we are going to New York." Jake answered. I was drinking a bottle of water at the moment so when Jake said we'd be going to New York I pretty much spit my water out of my mouth.

"New York?" I asked him in disbelief. He nodded his head excitedly and they all laughed at my reaction. I shook my head and followed them to a car I didn't recognise. I got in nonetheless and found the new guy at the wheel. I sat at front while the others sat back laughing and talking. I turned my gaze on the guy for a moment just staring at him curously. He still seemed kinda stiff. He had the same expressionless mask on as the first time we met. If I didn't know any better, I would say he was a guardian. But I knew that wasn't possible. Why would a guardian be working at Wal-Mart, right? But then, why would a senior novice be?

I went back to the time I first met this guy and though about the way he was.

_We were hanging out having our brake at the staff room when Gary walked in with a young man beside him. The guy looked to be about twenty or so. He had messy brown hair and familiar looking dark brown eyes. He was also very tan and muscular and very tall indeed. All in all, he was very hot. There was something in him that seemed oddly familiar, but wasn't sure of what it was. _

_"Alright everyone, this is our new employee mister no-name. Be nice to him. He's quite frightening." Gary said and every one laughed. He left the room with the new guy standing there in place. Vic said he wanted to go introduce himself and so he did. They talked a little. the new guy didn't seem that talkative. When I looked at him, he looked very tense and he wore this expressionless mask on his face that was way too familiar. I've seen that same mask on every guardians face. but he couldn't be a guardian. If he were, he would be somewhere guarding a moroi. _

_Vic walked over to us with the new guy. "Hey guys, this is mister no-name. He says he won't tell people his real name when he doesn't know them but wouldn't mind if we showed him around." Vic said happily. We all nodded and they were all talking. I kept staring at the guy suspiciously. There was something off with him. I noticed he stole a few glances my way as well. No one else seemed aware of this though. _

_I got up when my brake was over and told the guys I had to get back to work. Vic stopped me and suggested I show no-name places a little since they were going to hang out there still. I sighed and agreed. I told no-name to follow me and he did. I showed him around the places and told him the exact ways on doing certain stuff. He didn't talk much while, he just nodded his head and mumbled 'mm-h' It was very annoying, just saying, but what ever._

_I gave him something to do while I went to start my own job and wonder about this new guy._

We arrived in New York about three hours later. The night was busy and there were people everywhere you could barely get anywhere. The rush of friday night...great.

We got to a building and no-name found a parking spot. Vic said we'd be going to a party at this apartment. It was Vic's friend who was having a party and the friend invited Vic and his friends - which is us. We walked into the building and up the elevator and to the apartment.

This was going to be a hell of a night - for them.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello again.

First of all, I would like to thank you guys again.

Second of all, thanks for sticking around so far. Trust me, it will get better after a few more chapters after this.

Oh, and you will find out the name of 'no-name' :-)

Enjoy,

* * *

I looked around the place. I saw Vic hanging out with some girl in a corner and completely drunk. On the other side of the room, Christy and Jake were sitting on the couch, drink in hand making out. I shook my head at them. They have had a lot to drink and they were completely drunk. I've only had one drink and I feel fine. I'm not a huge drinker, not anymore. The other person sober tonight was no-name. He was driving so he had to stay sober. I had no idea where he was so I decided to go look for him.

I walked around for a while and noticed a staircase leading upstairs. I walked up and passed a room that had the door open that really should have been closed considering there were a man and a woman on the bed having a pretty heavy make-out session. I grimaced and closed the door for them. No one else deserved to see what I just witnessed. I walked further until I found a room with a balcony. I decided to have a look out there and surprisingly I found no-name sitting there on a chair looking at the sky. We were pretty high so we had a quite good view from here. I sat down next to him and sighed. I didn't say anything for a moment not knowing what to say. I decided to brake the silence after a while though.

"The night looks beautiful tonight." I said trying to get him talk. All I got was the same 'mmh' I usually got. I turned around to face him and saw him smiling with his eyes closed. I stared at him curiously. I nudged him lightly trying to get his attention. I nudged him again.

His eyes snapped open and he locked eyes with me. "What?" he snapped. I gringed back and turned away again.

"Jeesh, sorry for interrupting your fantasy." I said and folded my arms across my chest.

"Sorry." He murmured. I turned my head again and saw him staring at me.

"What's your name?" I asked softly. He shook his head and looked away. I sighed and looked at him. "Why don't you tell me your name or anyone? What exactly are you afraid of?" I asked him.

"I just don't feel comfortable with saying too much about myself." He murmured.

I sat at the edge of my seat and turned completely to him. I took a hold of his hand and made him look at me. "Look, I don't know what's bothering you so mcuh, but you can trust me, really." I told him and stared at him showing the truth in my eyes. He sighed and nodded. He leaned up from the chair and looked down on our joining hands.

"My name is...Alek." He said sounding unsure of himself.

"You're Russian?" I asked suddenly. He nodded his head. I knew there was something familiar in him. He must be a relative of Dimitri's in some way, that's the only explenation. They looked so much alike. Alek had the same eyes Dimitri had. He had those smoldering dark brown eyes that were fierce yet very soft. God I missed those eyes. But I thought I'd shut about the whole Dimtiri thing.

"What are you doing working here?" I asked him.

He hesitated before answering. "I...ran away from home. I couldn't take the pressure. I needed a job to get money so here I am." He said. I was surprised by this. He was a dhampir, right? Why did he run away? Oh yeah, you're the one to talk. You did the same thing and ran away too you prickwick. I internally laugehd at my stupidity.

"Oh...well, then I can relate. I kinda did the same." I said giving him a sheepish half-smile. He smiled back at me. I think we would be getting along very well after all.

It was getting late and we wanted to leave. We both walked back down to find the others. We found Vic passed out on a couch and Christy and Jake still in the same position as before. "I'll go break up the lovebirds, you go grab Vic." I told Alek and he nodded. We went our seperate ways and did out jobs. He lifted Vic in his arms - which may be a shocker if I didn't know he was a dhampir - and I went to get the two others. They protested against leaving but when I told them we would be leaving without them Christy huffed and got up pulling Jake with her. We all piled in the car again and headed off. The guys fell asleep in the backseat while Alek and I talked the way back home.

I could sense him getting a little more comfortable around me. He wasn't that tense as he was the ride there. He was talking freely about nothings with me and laughing even a little. It made me smile. I might be bonding with a possible Belikov here. God I missed Dimitri.

"How long have you been here?" Alek's question brought me back from my thoughts.

"Six years. When I ran away I ran into a man who helped me a lot. He actually owns the house I live in. I owe him a lot." I said. He smiled at me and seemed a bit relieved, I think. That was an emotion I didn't understan coming from him right now.

"Well it's good that you had some help." He said and smiled. There was silence again for a moment. I didn't know what else to say, but I didn't need to say anything anyway.

We made it back home around four in the morning. I was pretty beat and couldn't wait until I got back home. We drove the three drunks home first. We decided to bring them all to Chirsty's since she had the largest house and I happened to know where she kept her spare key. We carried them in and placed them in some beds. Christy was sleeping on her own bed with Jake and we put Vic on a bed in a guest room. We went back to the car and drove off.

He offered to drive me all the way home, but I told him to take me back to Wal-Mart. I wanted to take my own car back home. I only had one drink so I wasn't really drunk at all. So he dropped me off where I told him to. I got out of the car and walked to the other side where my car was. I turned back to Alek and smiled.

"Thank you for dropping me off and opening up to me." I said. He smiled shyly.

"No problem. Good night."

"Good night."

I was about to step inside the car when Alek called out my name again. I turned around curious as to what he had to say.

"Be careful out there." He said concearn lacing his words fully. I sighed and nodded my head.

"I will. You too." I said with complete seriousness. I can sense he was a great guardian just like Dimitri. It would be a shame to lose someone like him. So sweet and innocent. he nodded his head understanding that I knew what he was talking about. He staid until I was safe inside my car and driving away, then he left himself.

I drove home and parked my car in the driveway. I went straight upstairs to my room. I changed my clothes to my night clothes and hopped in bed under the covers. I fell asleep almost immediately and had a nice dreamless, nightmare free sleep.

I was suddenly in another room. I didn't recognise the room I was in though. I felt panicked, scared. But it didn't feel like me. It didn't feel like my emotions at all, like I was feeling all that. I was looking around the room, like searching for something. My gaze stopped at the door. I was sitting under a desk, holding my legs to my chest. I had no idea what was happening. There were hasty footsteps. I could hear them. They were running up the stairs. I could hear someone calling the name, 'princess' over and over again. The voice seemed so familiar to me. I knew the voice. And that's when I realized myself to be in Lissa's head. I got sucked into Lissa's head.

"Guardian Belikov, I'm here!" Lissa screeched out. Dimitri appeared through the door Lissa was staring at and ran over to Lissa. He picked her up from under the desk and held her protectively. Lissa sobbed into Dimitri's chest. Dimitri rubbed circles on her back and comforted her.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. Don't cry. Come on, let's take you to the others. Don't worry, they're safe and sound in Rose's room." I froze when he said Rose. What did he mean Rose? Who was Rose? He couldn't mean me because I wasn't there, but who did he mean then?

They walked down the hall to a room. It looked like a little girl's room. "Mommy!" a little girl shouted from Christian's lap who was sitting on a bed. The little girl ran over to Lissa and she picked her up in her arms.

"Oh, Rosie. It's alright, I'm fine, we're fine." Oh my god. Lissa had had a baby girl and named her after me. I felt like crying, but I was stuck at the moment. I can't believe she named her child after me. I'm so touched. Oh god how I wished I could take her in my arms now and hug her to death - not in the literal sense of course.

I got sucked out again. I can't believe I was in Lissa's head. After so many years I just suddenly got sucked into her head just like that. I didn't believe it would be possible anymore. I mean, she was so far away from me...wait...I wonder where she is anyway, because if she is at court...that means, we would be in the same state. My eyes widened when that realization hit me. She might be at court. Maybe that's why I got sucked into her head when she got those stong feelings, because she was near. I felt like fainting at the moment. What if they found me? I don't know if I wanted to be found. But I couldn't leave. I didn't want to leave my frineds behind here. Or Alek...

I can't let them find me. I've been gone for way too long already. What would they say if they saw me? What would they do? Run up to me and say "Oh, Rose, we'we missed you so much!"? No, they wouldn't say that. They would more likely be mad at me than anything. Hiding away for six years? They're bound to be mad.

I looked at the clock and it said it was 11 A.M. I could still sleep. I sighed and layed back down on the bed my eyes closed.

_I walked around the new house I was going to live in from now. It had two floors and a whole-floor carpeting. It was already furnished and everything. All in all, it was very nice and comfy. I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was stocked with food. Either the food was old or someone has been here. I don't know which one it was, but I don't care. _

_I walked over to the living room. it was small and just adjoined by the dining room. Yeah, it was very small. There were white couches and a glass table in the middle. There was also a TV. When you walked in the door there was right flight of stairs up and down. The kitchen, living room and bedrooms were up the stairs. I walked down the stairs and looked around. There was an extra room. There was a huge leather couche and a flat screen tv. I saw a computer table in the corner. I walked out of there and examined the downstairs more. There was a cleaning room that had a washing machine and there was another room that was empty. I saw a door and when I opened it, it led to the garage. I walked back up and through the kitchen and dining room and out the doors to the porche. The backyard was nice. It had a pool and was nicely greenish. I sat on the porch on a chair for a while looking up at the sky. _

_I almost fell asleep there on the chair, but realized just in time where I was. I got up and got back inside. I went to the bedroom I would sleep in. It was the biggest room there. I changed my clothes and got to sleep. I would start my new life from here. I suddenly felt like a piece of my heart was missing. A sob escaped my lips as I thought about my loved ones and how they will take my disappearance. I felt bad about the way I left them. What was the sense of me leaving anyway? I mean, this N could attack them anyway. So what if I did go back? _

_I shook the thought away and tried getting some sleep._


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you mucho for reviewing!

I love you who keep reviewing repeatedly. It makes me smile at times like these when I'm not feeling that great.

Hope you continue reviewing. Tell me what you think.

Enjoy the chapter, I hope you like it! :)

* * *

There was a knock on the front door.

I groaned and got up from bed. Who the heck would disturb me in the middle of my sleep on a saturday. I put on my robe and walked over to the door. I opened it and saw a person I haven't seen in a long time. I screamed and threw my hands around Dean's neck and hugged him. He laughed and hugged me back. He gave me a tight squeeze and then let go.

"Dean, what are you doing here?" I asked.

He let go completely and smiled at me. "Well, it has been three years and I wanted to see how you were doing. Wow have you grown." He said and laughed. He pinched my nose and smiled. I chuckled and walked back in telling him to step in as well. We sat down at the living room and talked.

As we did, I found out that he has found someone. "We met at a local bar. I was sitting over there by myself drinking and looking miserable and she walked over to me and actually offered _me _a drink. I took it and offfered her one back. We talked a lot and laughed and even danced. It was like first love all over again. She is just wonderful. I can't wait to get back to her and see her again." He said. I awed a lot while he was telling his story. It was just so cute.

I hugged him again and congratulated him. "Oh my god, I'm so happy for you, Dean. See, I told you you'd find someone again. Now you have and you are just on the top of the world." I said and laughed.

"What about you? What have you been up to?" he asked sounding excited to know about what I have been doing for the past three years.

"Um, well, you know...just been working and hanging out at the gym and with my friends...nothing much more than that." I racked my brain thinking about something more fun to tell him so he wouldn't think I have not been feeling well. "We actually were just yesterday out, we drove down to New York to a party. It was crazy. And you should've seen Vic, Christy and Jake. They were all so messed up. Me and a new friend Alek helped them all to Christy's place and I bet they're still sleeping or fighting major hangovers at the moment." I told him and he laughed. I sighed in relief, mission complete.

"Well that sounds like fun. So you don't have any work today?" he asked and I shook my head. "Good, because we're going to lunch." He said telling me to go change.

I walked to my room down the hall and looked something to wear. I decided on black jeans and a white top and a green long sleeved shirt. Before that I had to take a shower still though so I told Dean to make himself at home since this is his home while I take a shower. I showered and washed my hair and dried myself. I put my clothes on and a pair of green heels. I got out and looked for Dean in the living room, but he wasn't there. I looked outside and saw him sitting on one of the chairs. I nudged him signaling I was ready to leave. We took his car driving down to Dunkin' Donuts. Could it be any more perfect?

I got some chocolate glazed doughnuts while Dean took some caramel doughnuts. We drank coffee as well. The so called lunch was great - especially because of the doughnuts - and we headed for the park for a walk afterwards just to talk. It was so peaceful here...so quiet. I knew it was way too silent here to last anyway.

While we walked we ran into Vic. The way he was was hilarious. He was walking unsteadily and rubbing his head while groaning. I guessed he was walking home. I can't believe he walked all this was in his condition. I sighed and nudged Dean pointing at Vic. He chuckled and nodded his head. We walked over to the sumbling Vic and walked next to him waiting for him to notice us. He didn't though. He kept walking and walking not knowledging us once. I rolled my eyes deciding I better say something.

"Hey, Vic." He flinched and turned around very fast but ended up falling butt first on the ground. His eyes were wide and he was breathign heavily. I chuckled and I helped him up. "Hey, you alright?" I asked him.

"God, Rose, you scared the hell out of me. Why did you leave me in Christy's place? You could have brought me at least home. You have no idea what I woke up to in the morning, and trust me, you don't want to know." He said. I couldn't help but laugh at him. I can only imagine what he had woken up to with Christy and Jake in the same bed. I shook my head trying to get the image out of my head and smiled.

"Sorry, but Alek and I were way too tired to bring you guys all in your own homes. At least you know the consequences of getting drunk and then passing out and leaving your friends to take care of you now. Yeah, so think better next time." I said. He muttered something I didn't hear and said whatever. Dean and I decided we would help him home and continue our day. We helped Vic to Dean's car and drove him home. He said he'd be fine so we left.

"So when do I get to meet your new girl?" I asked with a grin. He chuckled.

"Well we have to think about that. Maybe soon. She's at the moment busy at work, but maybe when she gets off we could come and visit you. or maybe you can come visit us." he turned to me and smield with a raised eyebrow. God, after six years, I still didn't know how to do that. I guess it's a thing I just am not able to do.

"You know what, that's a great idea. I can take some time off from work and come over to Iowa to visit you. Maybe I could take some time off now actually. To be honest, I haven't been feeling well - mentally - this past week and I really need a change of scenery. How about that?" I asked him. His eyes sparkled when I said that. He was very excited for me to go and stay with him. I was actually excited too.

"That is a great idea." He said too.

I couldn't wait until I got to work on monday so I could ask for time off from Gary. Ever since my first incident at work, he has been eager to get me out of there. But he couldn't fire me though without the permission of his boss. So we were stuck. He basically, any time I wanted, gave me a vacation as logn as I didn't ask it all the time just to get rid of me. It was obvious he didn't like me, but did he have to be that eager to get rid of me?

I laughed as I remembered my first week at Wal-Mart.

_I started my first ever job the next week I arrived here in Wilkes Barre. I was feeling quite lost. I had no idea where everything was or how everything worked. I'm lucky a guy came over to introduce himself to me though. He was with a group of people. He walked from them over to me smiling all the way._

_"Hey, my name's Victor, but you can call me Vic." The guy said and extended his hand to me. I took it and shook it. he seemed nice enough. I didn't miss the glances he gave me. He was totally checking me out. Well, I couldn't blame him._

_"Nice to meet you, Vic. I'm Rose." I said and grinned back at him._

_"Rose...what a perfect fit. That's a beautiful name." He said. He was so flirting with me. "If you want I can show you around?" he asked. I nodded my head. He put his arm around my shoulders and started leading me away. "Let's go then." _

_So on my first day Vic showed me around the place and told me the dos and don'ts. It was very helpful. I learnt the way to do things and all the easy ways._

_I have been here for a week and so far nothing eventful has happened. I was lucky. I was starting to get comfortable with this place and get to know the people I worked with. They were all very nice and goofy. They also had gatherings at times and they were having one the following weekend. Vic invited for me to come too. I couldn't wait._

_I was at the moment at the clothes rack. I was checking that everything was fine. When I turned around though, I accidentally ran into some poor woman. The impact made me gasp and take a few steps backwards, but a few steps too much. I crashed into one of the clothes racks and knocked it over. When I knocked it over, it made a few other racks beside it fall as well. The last one that fell hit a cart that was full of food and other things and made it fall. The floor was then full of eggs and milk. The elderly woman whose cart it was started complaining. People surrounded us watching. I was so screwed. This was so embarrassing. I was going to Gary, but when I turned around, I ran into an amused Vic._

_He helped me out and said I'd better inform to Gary while he cleaned up my mess. He was being very nice by doing that. I walked to Gary's office grimacing all the way. I was going to get yelled at him, I was sure. He already didn't want me to be here, for sure_

_I knocked on the door and I heard Gary call for me to come in. I walked in and he sat at his desk looking unimpressed. I supposed he knew about my "little" incident. I sat down carefully on the chair opposite him. He waited for me to say something. He had his eyebrow raised._

_"Well?" he said while he tapped his foot on the floor. Really, where did all my confidence go? I was feeling really nervous. Maybe it was the fear of losing my job. But I never had this feeling when I was in the line of getting expelled from St. Vlad's. _

_"I knocked out a clothes rack?" I said, but it came out more as a question._

_Gary sighed and got up from his chair. He walked slowly over to me and to stand behind my chair. He put his hand on both of my shoulders and rubbed them gently. I was feeling a little uncomfortable with this. _

_"Do you know how long I have been working here?" he asked me. I shook my head hesitantly. "I've been working here since I was eighteen." He said. He let go of my shoulders and walked over to stand in front of me. He had a nice smile on his face, but something tells me he was faking it. Then he started shouting which made me flinch. "Never have I seen such an idiot working here in my years! You are probably the worst employee ever in the history of Wal-Mart employees!" he kept yelling. Then he leaned down so his face was only inches from mine. "If I had the power to, you would have never even started here. But it was my fathers will, so let it be. But trust me, if I could fire you right here, right now, I would." He said in a dangerous low voice. I gulped and just stared at him._

_He stood up and walked over to his chair and sat down again tightening his tie and clearing his throat. "Now go and never do that again, understood?" he asked and I nodded my head. I left the office and back to the crime scene to see it all nice and cleaned up. Vic and one fo his friends, Danny were standing there with a mop in Vic's hand. They saw me approach and smiled._

_"So how'd it go?" Vic asked. I shook my head and continued doing my job._

The way I had been then made me smile. I had been so stupid and ignorant and very clumsy. I remember later that day I had discovered a few bruises and a cut even when I had been changing my clothes. My body hurt a lot, but I had had worse. I mean, I used to fight strigoi even. Not anymore though. Here, I was just another working woman. Just another person trying to get through the hard times of life. Nothing more.


	7. Chapter 7

HI! How are all of ya doing? :) So what's planned for this weekend? I'm just gonna hang around home.

My mom rented movies so we're gonna watch them. Then I'm gonna stick on the computer and write...and stuff.

Thank you so much for the reviews!

Keep sticking on with the story :)

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Dean said we he would stay as long as I still had work and when I was ready to leave, we would leave together. So he would stay here for the meanwhile.

We spent the weekend at home hanging out and catchign up on what we have been doing for the past three years. We even went to the gym together. The last time he was here it was Christmas. We had a little party between close friends that included just me, Dean, Vic, Christy and her date and Jake and his date. At the moment back then the light switch was off. They had fought about something idiotic which had concluded into a break-up...again.

_I was having a small Christmas party at home. I had just finished cooking with Vic who I must say was a pretty great cook and we were now setting everything up. I finished decorating the Christmas tree while Vic set the table. Everything looked just great. I had heard that both Christy and Jake would be bringing dates. I was just waiting for the disaster bound to come from that. They were doing that to get ther other jealous. Well that's gonna work just great._

_When we were done we sat down at the couch looking around and admiring our work. The door to the house opened and in walked Jake with his date. I had left the door unlocked so they could get right in. The girl he brought with him was a blonde with blue eyes. She was a real beauty, I'll say that. I got off the couch to greet them._

_"Hey dude," I said and huddeg him. "So who's your girl?" I asked. _

_"Rose," someone cleared his throat from behind me and I chuckled. Jake sighed and continued. "And Vic. Guys, this is Brianna, Brianna meet Rose and Vic." He introduced us and I gave Brianna a hug. So far so nice._

_Just then the door opened again and who else but Christy with her date came in. She had a massive grin on her face as she saw Jake, but the grin was more teasing than anything else. I rolled my eyes and went to greet her. She introduced her tan skinned dark haired and dark eyed hottie. Yes, that's what he was, a hottie and she said his name to be Markus. I wondered where they both got they're dates. My guess was they ment them at a club and paid them to do this. That's just what I thought. _

_We were about to exchange gifts when the door opened again. I wasn't extecting anyone so I was already ready to run to my room to get my stake until I saw someone I hadn't seen for three years. My eyes widened and I ran up to Dean to give him a hug._

_"What are you doing here?" I asked him with surprise._

_"We haven't seen each other for so long. And I brought presents." He said. I grinned and took his hand leading him to the living room to the others. They were all looking at me curiously as they looked at Dean. _

_"Hey, guys, this is Dean. He helped me out a lot a few years ago and is like a family to me." I said and smiled up at him. He looked surprised by my sudden statement but happy about it too. "Dean, these are my friends Vic, Jake and Christy and Jake's and Christy's dates Brianna and Markus." I said. He said hi to them and sat down next to me at the couch. And then we started unwrapping the presents._

_Later that same day we were sitting at the dining table eating and laughing at nothings. This turned out to be a great night. Or so I thought._

_"Bri, honey, are you alright?" Jake asked sounding nervous all of a sudden. We all looked at Brianna and saw her staring at her food. _

_"Don't you think that my food looks like Zac Efron?" she asked eyeing the food. Vic choked on his drink while Christy snickered and every one else just stared at her strangely including me. This nice girl turned out to be a blonde bimbo._

_"Honey, what do you mean like Zac Efron?" he asked her through grittered teeth. _

_"Well just look at it, it really looks like him!" she claimed pointing at the food. "Look, here's the head. You can see his lips right here and his eyes here and-" Jake grabbed Brianna's hand out of the food and gave a small nervous, apologising laugh._

_"Sorry guys, she forgot to take her meds." He said trying to cover her strnage behaviour. Then he smacked his head at what he just said. "Oh what are you snickering about! Your date isn't any better!" Jake told Christy. And here we go..._

_"Well at least _he _isn't on his "meds"" She said air quoting the word 'meds'. _

_"Where did you get him anyway, from a club or something?"_

_"Yeah, and where did you get yours? A strip club?" Christy said emphasizing 'strip club'. This was turning out to be quite entertaining._

_While the married couple contined fighting, I think I heard Markus asking Brianna if she wanted to get out of here. And I heard right because the next thing I knew the two were sneaking out from the house and leaving Jake and Christy alone. We all started laughing at this and as soon as we did, the bickering couple actually stopped and glared at us. _

I will always remember the Christmas three years ago. We had so much fun back then. Of course we still do.

I woke up on monday to the sound of my alarm clock. I got up, took a shower and did everything else that was necessary. I packed my stuff and headed downstairs. I sat at the table eating breakfast and thinking. The time was already 7 A.M. It was time for me to leave. I knew Dean wouldn't be up for a few hours so I didn't make him anything. He would know how to make his way in the kitchen and make breakfast when he wanted to or anything else.

I drove my car to work and parked it in the front. I walked straight to Gary's office first. Now was as good time as ever to ask him. I knocked on his door and he told me to come in. He looked up from his computer and sighed when he saw me step in.

"What can I do for you?" I asked in a bored voice.

"I need to take a vacation." I told him bluntly waiting for his reply.

He was deep in thought. He raised his eyebrow a few times and did some 'hmm' sounds. I knew he was just messing with me. He cocked his head to the side and looked at me for a moment, contemplating to let me go or keep me here. He seemed to come into a some kind fo decision. He sat up staright in his chair and crossed his arms on the table. "Why?" he asked surprising me looking at me with a devilish grin. I was annoyed.

"Listen. I've had a crappy week last week and this ain't any better. All I'm asking for is some time off, like the week. It's a change for me to get my head cleared up, get away from here for some time. I can barely stay awake and I keep having nightmares when I sleep. So please." By now I was almost begging. He looked pleased by this and had a smug look on his face. That son of a...

"Fine, take a week off, but I want you back here by monday. 7:30 sharp. Not any later than that." He said, but decided to continue. "As a matter of fact, let's make that not any earlier either." He said with that same smug grin of his. I glared at him and got up from the chair I was sitting at. He said still something before I got out of the door. "Oh, and you do still have to work for today since you're already here." I nodded and left.

I told the guys I was leaving later that day when we were having lunch together. I told them that I was leaving with Dean for the week and would be back sunday night. I thought they needed an explenation too, so I told them I was leaving due to the stress. So I was changing scenery because of how I was feeling lately again. They took it quite well and said they'd miss me a lot. I'd miss them too. But when I met up with Alek later that day and told him, his response was unexpected.

"Could I come with you too?" he asked me. We were standing at the electronics section when he said this. I was taken aback by his question I have to say. I was pretty much waiting for a, 'good luck' or 'I'll miss you' or something like that.

"Why would you want to come?" I asked him.

"I think it would be a nice change of scenery too." Was his simple answer. I really didn't want to say no to him. It would be very rude and in a way I did want him to come. At least I would have someone else to talk to too. And while Dean was with his girlfriend. I could hang out with Alek and get to know him more.

"Well, if you want to, you can come." I told him and he smiled and nodded. I told him to meet us at my place at 4 P.M. We would have more than enough time then. Dean had told me that we would be taking a private jet from New York and that same jet would be bringing us back on sunday. Where he got the money for a private jet? I have no idea.

I started packing my stuff for the week. Dean said it wouldn't be that cold out there so I just took some sweaters with me. I took some jeans and sweats as well as tops and t-shirts. I wouldn't need my laptop so I didn't bother with that, but I did take my I-pod and phone. I just finished packing when someone knocked on my door. I said it was open and Alek stood in the doorway. He asked if I was ready to go and I said I was.

We drove to the New York airport and we managed to get there in less than three hours. I looked through the flags of different countries as we got closer and closer. The jet was amazing. It had everything possible inside it. I sat down at a couch and lay down streching my legs. Dean chuckled as he walked past me. Alek pushed my legs aside as he sat down opposite me on the same couch. I stuck my tongue out at him and placed my legs on his lap. The flight didn't last as long as I thought.

We got off the plane and drove to Dean's house. As he drove we passed many familiar places I had seen six years ago. There was a lot of new buildings too I noticed. A lot does really change in many years. We passed the football field I had been running at too. Soon we made it to the house. I got off the car and smiled at the house I was looking at. I noticed Dean had made a few changes to it. It wasn't the same beige colour it used to be, now it was painted a soft sky blue. It looked nice and was a nice change. Dean noticed me staring and explained he got bored so he painted the house. The explenation was laugh worthy.

As soon as we walked into the house a woman came running to Dean's arms and he took her open armed and hugged her giving her a huge kiss on the lips. She had soft light brown curls framing her face nicely and fair skin with hazel coloured eyes. I smiled at what I was seeing. It was nice to know that Dean wasn't lonely anymore. He was like family to me after everything he has done for me. So seeing him happy, it made me happy.

The woman turned to me with a huge smile on her face. "Hello, I'm Diana, I assume you're Rose, correct?" she asked and I nodded. She came over to me and gave me a hug once and pulled away. I said it was nice to meet her too. She then turned to Alek and beamed at him and me. "And who is this young man? Is this your boyfriend perhaps?" she asked giving me a wink, but Alek was the one to answer.

"No, mam, I am her friend. Alek, nice to meet you." He said and extended his arm to her. She shook it off and hugged him instead. He looked s bit surprised and gave her a one-armed hug back.

"Oh, and don't call me mam, it makes me sound old." She said and giggled. "Call me Diana." She said. I was going to like her. She semeed very nice so far. Then she gasped and looked at me. "You know what we should do? Have some bonding time. I understan that you are very important to my dear Deany here, so what about we go shopping and do other girly stuff?" she asked. She called him Deany? Oh he was so getting teased after this. I chuckled and told her that was perfect. I was definitely in the need for pampering.

"That's great!" she beamed. I was going to like it here.


	8. Chapter 8

Hope you guys are having a nice weekend.

So, we finally get some action in this chapter, and you'll find out something that's been bothering you :)

Thank you for all the reviews and everything! You guys Rock.

Enjoy the chapyter..

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Diana had taken me to get a manicure and a pedicure with a friend of her's named Jane. They were really funny together and joked around a lot. I was having a great time. When I was having my manicure I went for plain blood red nails. Diana though took green nails - who knows why - and Jane took pink sparkly nails. We were all laughing when we compared our nails with each other. Diana's nails looked pretty wicked and Jane's were really cute. So then we got our pedicures.

We all sat down me on the middle and Diana and Jane on either side of me. They were talking of some past event that happened when they were young. It was very entertaining if I may say so myself. Jane was telling the story from her perspective.

"So when he asked Diana to the dance I got so jealous. I had had a crush on this guy, like, forever, but then when the senior prom comes, he decides to ask my best friend! So I totally got mad and wanted to get back at him and Diana." She said laughing. "I totally ruined her dress the night before. I had gone to her place to give an opinion on the dress and while she was in the bathroom, I decided to make my move. I cut little holes here and there and gave it nice decorations. It was a disaster. I played totally innocent after that." She finished and Diana continued.

"When she left the house I went to sleep. I was ready for the dance the next day, but when I pulled my dress out of the closed, I freaked out. My dress was ruined and of course I suspected Jane since she was there that night. I had to look through my clothes trying to find another dress to wear. I did find one, but it was nothing compared to the original. So I went to the dance with Rick then. But at the dance all I was thinking of was revenge. She wanted to play that game, I got her back. I snuck to the principal's office and spoke to the speaker. My exact words were: "Jane Jenkins, you're mother is here and she says you forgot your teddy bear and glasses at home. Will you pleace report to the principal's office." It was hilarious and when I got back to the school's gymnasium, every one were in hysterics. I have to say I felt a little bad, but she started it by ruining my dress." Jane continued by there.

"I was furious at her, I'll admit. I was mortified by the announcement she made. I pulled her out of the gym and to somewhere quiet. We fought for a long time, but eventually sorted it all out and laughed a our stupidness. Diana didn't know beforehand that I had actually liked Rick. I know she would have said no, if she had known. But we made up and went back to the gym together. It was the best night a girl could have. We both managed to get guys after that. Rick came to talk to me and Diana talked with some random guy from the dancefloor. It was great." They were now both smiling at each other at the memory.

Diana said she wanted to get her hair done so we went to the salon next. Since we were here, I wanted to go with something new. The last time I had cut my hair was two years ago and it was quite long now again. I cut my hair just below my shoulders that they fell nicely there and took some soft highlights, a shade lighter than my own hair colour that could be barely seen, but in the right light you could see them perfectly.

The hair dresser had just finished colouring my hair and while she was washing my hair I kept thinking about what I have been seeing slash feeling lately. I had no idea what was in the bushes at night. It could've been an animal, but there was also a good possibility for it to be a strigoi also. I mean, you never actually know. They could be anywhere. But if they were strigoi, why haven't they attacked yet? What were they waiting for? And then there was the possibility of it being a person. Either a person I knew or someone had hired someone to watch me for them. There was the possibility for it to be really Dimitri too. I smelt his aftershave at work that day. He could have seen me and followed me home after I was done at work. But somehow that felt unlikely. He would have come to me by now, right? If he had seem me?

I was pulled out of my thoughts as the hair dresser was done washing my hair and now it was time to style it down. She asked me how I wanted it and I said to make it nice and curly. I have to say at the end, my hair looked even better than before. I just loved it.

The sun had just set a few minutes ago. We were walking outside the parking lot to the car when I felt it. I felt a strange nauseous feeling. I had no idea what it was of, but when I heard running behind me, inhumanly fast running, I knew. "Get to the car, fast!" I yelled at Diana and Jane as we started all running. I pulled out my stake form my bag in case I had to use it. I looked back just a little and what a msitake it was. There were two strigoi running not only a few feet away from me. I grimaced as I pushed my legs harder. The others had just gotten into the car and I was about to get in too when one of the strigoi got a hold of my hair and pulled me back hard. I fell backwards and felt my head collide with the hard ground. I heard a loud shriek from inside the car.

I got up not minding the thumping in the back of my head and got into a stance. The two strigoi were looking at me with pure mock, and grinning evilly. I growled and attacked the weaker looking one. A girl. I kicked her in the guts and sent her staggering backwards. I was rusty. I had to remind myself to work on my moves more. The other one that was a man lunged forward for me, but I managed to dodge from the way just in time, and I kicked his back and he fell to the ground. Someone took a hold of my left arm and twisted it around a little. I moaned at the pain, it hurt like hell. I got pushed on the ground and the next thing I knew I was being pinned down by the girl strigoi. She lent down to my neck and I closed my eyes waiting for her fangs to sink into my neck, but she never did. Someone had pushed her away from me.

I opened my eyes and looked up. I saw Alek there fighting both of the strigoi off. He needed help. I got off from the ground and lunged for the little bimbo who alsmot killed me. I didn't even decipher the fact that Alek had just imersed from nowhere. I used all my strength to push her down on the ground. I hit her and got a few punched here and there until she was almost uncouncious. Then I just took a good grip on my stake and lunged it straight through her heart. She was dead. I was breathing heavily as I got up and tried to calm myself down. I turned around to see that Alek had already staked the other one. A huge grin spread on my face as I caught him straight in action.

"I new it!" I exclaimed. He sighed.

"Yes, I am a dhampir. Now get in the car we need to get out of here before any more comes after us." He said as he pushed me towards the door. I got in the same time as he did and told Diana to drive. They both had the same expressions on their faces. The expressions of shock, disbelief and scare.

I haven't had a meeting with a strigoi in six years. I was totally surprised and unpepared for it. And that nauseous feeling I got. It was if I was being warned by the nearing strigoi. That might become useful for me in the future. I was so close of dying back there. I saw my life flash before my eyes as I thought about my life and the biggest mistake I had ever made. You can die anytime in life. You'll never know when. That's why you need to make it the best of it. But it was hard to do that when you weren't living the life you wanted to. If you asked me six years ago about what I wanted to do in the future, I would have had a sure straight answer to that. Now, I'm not that sure.

We got to the house and as soon as the car was in place, every one got out swiftly and practically ran inside. Alek was the only one to walk normal pace. While at the car I had asked for Diana and Jane not to say anything about that pecific insident. But since I looked so beat up they could say I had an accident. As soon as I walked into the living room Dean was at my side hugging me.

"Are you alright, dear?" he asked really worried. I groaned at the pressure he was giving my arm that got twisted. "Oh, I'm sorry." He said pulling away fast. I said it was okay and it was just a little hurt.

"Don't be silly. I know you broke your arm. We need to get you to a hospital." Alek spoke up from behind me. He had a completely serious face on as he said this.

"Fine, but I need to talk to you privately first." I said. He nodded and I led him upstairs to my room where no one hopefully bothered us. I closed the door behind me and turned around to look at him. We were both silent for a moment. I knew I was going to be the one to break the silence first, but I wanted to study him first, looking for a some kind of reaction. of course I got none. I paced in front of him for a moment before I stopped right in front of him. I looked straight in he's eyes.

"What is your last name?" I asked with all seriousness. He hesitated, I could see it in his eyes. He didn't want to tell me. Yes, this is excatly what I was hoping for. "Don't lie to me, Alek, tell me." He gulped and shook his head.

"I can't tell you that." And here we go.

I sighed and shook my head looking down. I looked back up at him with all seriousness. "I know who you are, Alek. Don't try to pretend all shy and stuff." I said. He bought my act. His eyes grew wide and his mouth was hanging open. I was gambling here, but it was worth it.

"Rose, I-"

"No, don't," I stopped him before he could say anything else. "All this time you've lied, in a way. You kept such a big thing from me you know." I said. I was taking a risk here by those words not even knowing if I was right.

"I'm sorry, but my cousin-" I held up my hand to stop him right there. Bingo.

"You're _cousin?_" I asked raising my voice a little.

"You..I thought you..." He then glared at me through narrowed eyes. "You tricked me." He said. I grinned wickedly at him and raised my eyebrows. Alek sighed and shook his head walking over to my bed to sit down. He put his head on his hands and muttered something I think was in Russian. "I'm sorry. He made me come here and look after you." He whispered. He said that _he made him come and look after me..._

I sat down next to him and looked him squeare in the eyes. "Tell me everything." I said firmly. He nodded and started telling me about everything.


	9. Chapter 9

Um, wow much? Seriously, wow. What? You guys seriously are the best. Thank you so much.

Okay, so here is my next chapter. Hope you like it.

And since you made me cross my 100 line, I'm giving you a special treat in the end with a Alek POV.

And please don't hate me. I know you all want to hear the 'story', but that will just have to wait for a while longer.

It will come later as a flashback.

Enjoy the chapter.

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I was shocked to say the least. I wasn't expecting some of the things I was told. Two hours had gone by and Alek and I were still sitting on my bed. I processed everything he had said. The things about Lissa and more importantly, Dimitri. I was speechless. I had no idea how to respond to all this. I knew I would hurt them by leaving, I just knew it, but I had to.

If Dimitri saw me, why didn't he come to me then? If he missed me that much, why didn't he have the nerve to confront me?

I hadn't noticed I had thought the questions in my mind out loud until Alek answered me.

"Dimitri didn't want to come to you afraid that you would run away from him and refuse to talk to him. You did run away, you know. He couldn't stay anyway. He had to get back to court to Lissa since he's her guardian. He asked me as a favour to come out here and look after you. He was really worried about you. You really should've seen him when they found out you were gone. Well, I didn't see him either, but I've heard a lot. He went nuts after hearing the news and pretty much blamed himself for it. He thought himself to be the reason for your death. He couldn't forgive himself...and he never got over you either. After all these years he still wishes he could be with you. believe me, he does. Tasha tried to convince him to go and guard her, but he always refused." He said. My heart swelled about what he said. Dimitri refused Tasha for me?

He was making all this very hard for me to process though. He wanted me? He is the one that pushed me away in the first place. But maybe my sudden disappearance triggered something in him that is realization.

"He calls me every now and then asking how you are doing. I usually have something good to say. He wants to come to you, but he's afraid." He finished. I was about to say something when he contined. "Do you want him to come to you?" he suddenly asked. I was taken aback by the question and I was speechless for some time.

"Uh...I...I don't know if I..." I really didn't know what to say. Did I want him here? Did I was to confront him again after all these years? The answer is yes. Yes, I do want him here and to hold him and kiss him and everything possible.

"You don't need to answer that." Alek said softly and smiled. I relaxed and huffed a puff of air. He hugged me and got up from the bed pulling me up with him. "We should go down now. I'm sure they're worried down there." I nodded and followed him out and down the stairs to the living room.

As soon as we stepped into the living room Dean was standing in front of me looking extremely worried. "Now let's get you to a hospital to ckeck on your hand." He said.

I shook my head and backed away. "No way I'm going to a hospital."

"Yes, you are," Alek stood behind me. "You are going to a hospital and that's final. Do it for him. He wouldn't want you hurt like this." Oh no he didn't.

I turned around to face him. "Don't you dare go there!" I said pointing at him with my index finger.

"Already did, now come on." He said and started leading me away. "It's okay, Dean. I will take her to the hospital.

"Fine, but I still hate hospitals." I muttered as I let Alek lead me away from the house.

We were sitting at the doctor's room. Alek was standing next to the door while I sat at a hospital bed waiting for the doctor to come back with the X-ray of my broken arm. I was thinking about everything Alek had told me just a few hours ago. It was shocking to say the least. Pretty unexpected.

My thoughts were interrupted by the doctor walking back to the room staring at a piece of paper. She looked up as she sat down on her chair. "Yup, you're arm is definitely broken. A cast will be necessary to keep your arm in place." She said and started putting the cast on my arm. I was frowning all the while she put it. I hated having casts. This is exactly the reason why I didn't want to come to the hospital in the first place.

"Now remember to not give too much pressure on your arm. Just try and take it slow. You don't want to make it any worse than it already is. Your arm isn't in that bad condition, so I want you to go and see a doctor in three weeks to check up on your arm." She said. I nodded and got up to leave. Alek was holding the door open for me as I got out. I grumbled all the way to the car as we walked. Three whole weeks? Well, luckily I heal faster being a dhampir. So my arm would heal in half less the time. Good.

The rest of the week went by nicely. We went out a lot and even went to the gym. Alek was highly against me going there, but I managed to persuade him by promising not to do anything with my broken arm. While Alek was somewhere lifting weights, I walked over to the punching bags careful not to get caught. I knew if Alek saw me he would make me leave. That overprotective Russian cousin of my badass Russian...

I took out my Ipod and put on some upbeat music to punch to. I did promise not to use my broken arm though, so I had to manage without it for now. I was hitting the gym bag when I saw someone from the corner of my eye. I looked down and saw that person tapping his foot on the floor impatiently. I immediately stopped and took out my earphones. I looked up to see a frustrated Alek. He-he, oops.

"Rose..."

"Don't say anything. I'm already leaving." I said holding my hands up in defence. I walked over to the treadmill and started there. Again I put my earphones on and ran to the music. I must've been there for quite some time cause when I looked at the time, almost three hours had passed by. I stopped running and noticed my breathing had become quite ragged. I was breathing very heavily. Alek walked over to me from somewhere and asked if I wanted to leave. I nodded my head and we left. We were silent in the car until Alek decided to break the silence.

"Rose..." He started and I turned my head to look at him. "Do you miss them?" he asked giving a sidelong glance at me. My eyes narrowed as he asked me this.

"Of course I miss them. I miss Lissa so much. She was my best friend and I was supposed to be her guardian when we graduated...but I broke my promise to her. I promised I would always be there for her. I miss Mason. He was my guy best friend. I remember goofing off with him and pranking every one." I said and let out a light chuckle. The my eyes came sad again and I was fighting the tears not to come out. "And then I miss Dimitri. I love him, I've always loved him and I really wish I could be with him right now. I wish we could be together and have a family and everything. But I know it isn't possible." I said.

It was true that I missed them, but then again, I wasn't sure if I wanted to see them again after all these years. I wasn't quite ready to confront them yet, especially Dimtri.

Alek parked the car in front of Dean's house. It was really late by now and the lights were off. They were probably sleeping already. When we got into the house I walked straight into the house, to my room and fell asleep.

It was saturday. I told Alek I wanted to go running. Dean wasn't home at the moment so I told Diana to tell Dean when he got home that we would be at the track. We got in the car and drove off. I gave Alek directions as he drove us. I was happy to see that the school and football field were still the same. I walked to the track and stood at the starting line. I smiled and told Alek to take time. Alek counted to three and then yelled go.

I ran the track around in less than a minute. I was fast, I know. I could be faster though. I ran taking time a few more times and after that just ran freely with Alek by my side. I knew he was holding back with the running, but was nice enough to stay in pace with me and talk.

We would be going back tomorrow. It made me sad some that we had to leave. I was enjoying my time here despite the little incident back at the mall. That said, it was obvious that this place isn't safe. I missed my friends at Wilkes Barre though. I can't wait to see Vic again and tell him all about my trip here.

We finished our last lap and took a break sitting at the bleachers. I leaned back and closed my eyes trying to steady my breathing. Alek didn't have trouble breathing at all which annoyed me. Those freaking badass Belikovs...

"So do you want to leave now or stay for a while more?" Alek asked. I thought for a moment.

"I think I want to stay for a while more, if you don't mind." I said. I heard him murmur a soft sure. We both sat there not saying anything until I heard someone speak up from the other side of me.

"I suspect you don't go to this school?" He sounded familiar and I remember those lines. I opened my eyes and looked up. I knew the person sounded familiar. "Hello." He said and sat down next to me.

"Well, hi. Kenny, was it?" I asked and grinned.

"Uh-huh. And Rose, right?" He asked and I nodded. "Cool. So the last time you were here was six years ago. How are you? Been to New York yet?" he asked and chuckled a bit.

"Actually yes, I have been to New York. Actually I have been there quite many times. These days it's pretty much a monthly thing. I live in Pennsylvania so it takes only about three hours for me to get there." I explained. He looked impressed and smiled.

"I heard you moved there. So who is your friend there?" he asked next.

"Oh, how rude of me." I said and turned to Alek. "Alek, this is Kenny. I met him here six years ago. Kenny, this is my friend Alek." I introduced them to each other. Kenny extended his hand to Alek, which he took and shook.

"Nice to meet you, man." He said.

"You too."

"I'm sorry, Alek isn't comfortable with people he doesn't know." I said teasingly to Kenny and he laughed. Alek poked me and glared. I had to laugh at him though.

Alek's phone rang a few minutes later stopping my laughing. He took it out and pursed his lips when he looked at the caller ID. He turned to look at me sending a silent message. I knew what he meant by that. I nodded my okay and he stood up and walked away to answer the phone.

"What was that about?" Kenny asked from beside me. I shook my head and told him it was nothing. We talked for a while about what we've been up to. I found out about Kenny that he studied english literature at a university. That's pretty cool.

"I know right. My teacher says I'm the best in my class." I said grinning. I laughed and said I'm sure he is.

Right then Alek decided to walk back over to us. He sat back down and sighed. He looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. I'm sure he was asking if I was ready to go. I don't get him. He could just ask me out loud if I was ready to go, but no, he had to talk to me with silent questions. He is an idiot.

"Well, It's been nice talking to you again, but we have to go." I said getitng up. Kenny got up too and said goodbye hoping we would meet again someday. He was nice, so I hoped to meet him too someday again. Alek and I walked back to the car and got in. "Seriously, what's wrong with you? You could easily have asked me aloud about leaving." I said. He just shrugged and grinned as he started the car. "Ugh." I grumbled and rolled my eyes. He seriously did that on purpose.

Alek POV:

My phone rang. I took it out and looked at the caller ID. When I saw who was calling, I pursed my lips. I turned my gaze on Rose to ask if it was okay I answer the phone. She nodded her head and I stood up and walked away. I stood beside the bleachers in the other end. I flipped my phone open and answered the phone.

"Alek, where are you? Where is Rose?"

"Dimitri, where exactly are you?" I asked suspicion in my voice.

"I'm in Wilkes Barre. I took a day off and wanted to see Rose, but when I get here she isn't and neither are you. Where the heck are you? You have no idea how much I almost freaked out when neither of you were nowhere to be found." Dimitri said. I sighed and rolled my eyes in frustration.

"Dimitri, calm down. She's fine, i'm fine, we're both fine. Rose needed some time off and decided she wanted to go back to Iowa to visit some friends. And don't worry, I'm with her. When she told me she was leaving I asked to go with her knowing you wouldn't want her to be alone. And knowing you would kick my ass id I had let her go alone." I said. I heard him sigh in the other end of the line and mutter something.

"Alright. As long as everything is fine. When will you be back?"

"We should be back by tomorrow night. How about you? How long are you staying there?" I asked.

"I actually have to leave today. Like I said, it was a day off. So I'll have to get back tonight to court to guard the Princess. I will be back though. I really need to see her." He said.

"Why don't you just go to her? You do realize she misses you like hell too, right? I've talked ot her and she has told me everything about feeling paranoid and thinking she has seen you and _smelt you_. She thinks she's going crazy thinking you were there." I said and there was silence after that. Alright, so maybe I was exaggerating a bit, but I needed him to do it. He had to talk to her. It would be good for both Rose and him.

"How about if I think about it?" he whispered.

"Sure, you do that." I said. He said he had to go and so did I. He hung up and I put my phone back into my pocket and got back to Rose and the guy, Kenny.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello :)

I was pretty much struggling with writing this chapter...I barely managed to write it today, but I did.

I'm not sure if I will be able to UD tomorrow, but I can try.

So enjoy this chapter I just put up.

I staid up just to write it for you guys.

Enjoy it,

* * *

I walked down the stairs and heard someone shuffling around in the kitchen. I peeked in and saw someone's ass sticking out from behind the open fridge door. I knew it was Diana since I doubt the guys would have an ass like that. I walked behind the fridge door and waited for her to close it. She kept taking out ingredients and when she did close the door, she let out a small scream. I laughed and smiled apologetically.

"Oh, Rose, I didn't know you were there." She said letting out a small nervous chuckle.

"Sorry. Good morning."

"Morning", she said and put the rest of the things from her hands on the counter. "Would you like to help with breakfast, dear?" she asked and I nodded. I made pancakes while she did the rest. She made some toast and boiled a fresh cup of coffee. Alek didn't drink coffee so I took out some orange juice for him. I also took out some maple syrup from a shelf.

I could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. I peeked around the open door and saw Alek walking down. I helped Diana finish up in the kitchen just as Alek walked in. He sniffed the freshly made food and sat down on the table with a simple 'good morning'. We sat down as well. Dean didn't wake up after about fifteen minutes though. When he sat own he said he had smelled the food. That made me laugh.

We ate our breakfast and talked about today's plans. We were going all out together to do something. We were going to see a movie and have dinner after that. We were contemplating on which restaurant to go to. Diana suggested on a nice Italian restaurant just near them. I'm fine with that; as long as they had pizza there.

We went to see The Bounty Hunter. It was cool, and predictable in the end, but I liked it. Luckily the Italian restaurant served pizza. If they hadn't had that, I wouldn't have wanted to eat there. I went with pepperoni pizza with Alek. Dean thought the whole thing was too big for me so Alek and I shared. Diana and Dean both had pasta with huge meatballs. It looked good, but did it taste as good?

As soon as our pizza came, I dug straight in. I was starving and I really just love pepperoni pizza. Every one laughed at me when they saw me pretty much attack the pizza. I moaned as I took my fist bite. God it was delicious. I head another fit of laughter as I did this. I stuck my tongue out at them and contined eating my pizza.

"Are you ready to leave?" Dean asked a few hours later. I looked at the clock and nodded. We should probably get going if we don't want to get home too late in the night. Dean paid the check and we all left the restaurant. Just as I got in the car I felt nauseous again. I groaned in frustration and hurriedly told Dean to start driving and fast unless he wanted to be dead. I looked through the back window as Dean drove and saw a strigoi running after the car like an idiot. I told Dean to push the peddle so we could get rid of the strigoi. Luckily we got home in one peace each.

Dean parked the car in front of the house and we all got off and walked into the house. Dean said he'd wait downstairs as Alek and I went to get our bags. As soon as we had all of our things inside the car we were off. Diana had staid home so we said goodbye to her and made a promise to come back and visit sometime.

We were standing in front of the plane now. Alek had said his goodbye and was walking up the steps into the private jet. I walked over to Dean and hugged him tightly. He rubbed my back gently in a fatherly manner and pulled away. "I will miss you. I hope to see you again sometime." He said.

"Me too," I said. "I will miss you." I kissed his cheek and waved my last goodbye and walked up the stairs into the plane. I loved spending some time here for a change. I can't wait to come back here.

The plane took off some time later. Alek had fallen asleep on the couch so I decided I'd just watch some TV. They were showing re-runs of Friends again. I loved that show. It was seriously funny and Joey is definitely my favourite. He's such an idiot.

I think I might've fallen asleep too since I was dreaming. I was in a forest. It was dark outside and I was walking around not knowing myself where I was. I found a small dirt path, which I walked along. I walked until the same old familiar looking school came into view. I was dreaming, but to some point, this didn't seem like a dream at all. It felt so real that my breathing started to hitch. Then the scene changed and I was at the ski lodge. The scene confused me. Why would I be dreaming of the ski lodge?

"What the hell," I muttered aloud. That's when I heard someone from behind me. I turned around swifty completely on battle mode only to see someone I haven't seen in so many years.

"Hello, Little dhampir," Adrian said with a huge smirk on his face. Oh shit. My eyes widened as I saw Adrian standing there. I was so tense as he walked over to me and gave me a hug. I backed away from him and looked disgusted. I actually didn't mind the hug at all, but he smelled too much of clove cigarettes. "What, not happy to see me?" he aske frowning slightly. Six years and he is still the same.

"Surprisingly, I am, but you stink." I told him bluntly. He smelled his breath and shrugged.

"I don't smell anything." He said and smirked again. I rolled my eyes at him. "So long time no see, huh?"

"What are you doing here, and most importantly, what the heck were you doing outside my house?" I asked and put my hands on my hips. He looked surprised so I decided to contine. "Oh, don't play innocent, I know it was you." I said and raised my eyebrows just daring him to say something.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "And how do you know that?" he asked obviously challenging me.

"Oh, a little birdy told me." I said and now it was my turn to smirk. Maybe it wasn't so hard to confront every one. I just saw Adrian for the first time in years and I feel like we've never even been apart. But then again, this is Adrian we're talking about. It would be different if it was some one more important than him.

He shrugged. "Hm, I knew he couldn't be trusted." I gasped and smacked his arm. "Ouch," he muttered.

"Don't say that. Alek is very trustful and very protective, unlike some fo us." I said with the obvious meaning that Adrian was the some of us. I was feeling quite happy at the moment. As much as I hate to admit it, I missed Adrian and his mindless flirting. He was an idiot, yes, but he was also sweet.

Adrian put his hand over his heart and faked hurt. "Ouch, little dhampir, that hurt." He said. I couldn't help but laugh at his idiocy. Then his expression turned serious in a flash. I was always surprised how fast his mood could change from joking to serious. "You know that everyone misses you, right?" he asked. I sighed. I knew this topic would come up eventually.

"Yeah..I do know. Alek has told me a lot and I've actually been in Lissa's head...so, I do." I admitted.

"Well, it's true. I was there when the guardians went into that house and came out wihtout you. It was horrible not seeing you come out of there, not being anywhere to be found. Belikov freaked out completely and Lissa was depressed for quite some time. I don't think you want to even know. She's lucky that she had Sparky with her though. Without him, who knows what would have happened to Lissa." He said. My eyebrown scrunched up as he said all this. This wasn't something Alek had told me, about Lissa. But then again, how could he have known?

I sat down on a chair that was on the porch we were at without minding the snow covering the chair. I put my head on my hands and shook my head. "I'm such an idiot. Why didn't I just go back?" I muttered to myself. Adrian sat down on a chair next to me.

"What happened after what happened in the house? Where did you go?" he asked.

I looked up to meet Adrian's gaze. "I didn't go anywhere. I was knocked out in the house. When I woke up I was somewhere in Wyoming. A strigoi brought me there. I had a note laying next to me that pretty much said that I couldn't go back. So I didn't. I got a lot of help from a guy who lives in Iowa. I was visiting him actually there for the past week with Alek." I told him.

"Hmm..." He said. I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. He looked to be deep in thought. The he suddenly grinned like there was no tomorrow. "What would you think if we come and visit you?" he asekd suddenly. I got up from the chair and held my hands up in protest.

"No, no, no, no. You are not coming here." I said.

Now Adrian had gotten up too and he was looking at me with hurt. "Why not?" he demanded.

"I...I just don't think that it's a...good idea." I said, sounding unsure or myself.

"Rose, they miss you, they want you to be there with them, they want you back, they would do anything to get you back with them. Especially Belikov."

"I already know that." I muttered. "Alek has told me everything he knows already." I said. He nodded. I sighed and closed my eyes. "If you don't mind, I would like to rest some now. This discussion has made me very exhausted." I grumbled.

"Fine," he said and sighed. He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Promise me we will talk again, alright?" he asked. I saw the desperation in his eyes. So of course I said yes. He waved goodbye as the scene in front of me started to fade away and I started stirring awake. I groaned and opened my eyes. Alek was sitting next to me watching the re-runs of Friends. I guess he had woken up while I had fallen asleep. I sat up straight and streched my arms.

"Had a nice nap?" he asked and I mumbled a 'yes'. "Hm...so what was that you mumbling about Adrian, if I may ask?" he asked raising his eyebrow at me.

I grimaced and gave out a nervous chuckle. "So, Adrian might've visited me in my dreams while I was napping." When I said this Alek's eyes widened slightly for a fracture of a second.

"Oh really now..." He mused.

The pilot announced that we would be landing in a short moment. How nice. I would finally get out of this plane and to my own house and own bed. When the plane did land I saw Vic standing at the bottom leaning into his car. I laughed and ran to him wrapping my hands around him in a fierce hug. He hugged me back and swirled me around, then set me own my own feet.

"Hey, Rosie, how was your trip?" he asked.

"It was pretty awesome actually." I told him grinning.

"Cool. it's nice to see that your little vacation has brought you into a better mood."

"Yeah, well, I learnt a lot while on vacation." I said and smiled.

We carried our stuff inside the car and Vic drove us off home. We dropped off Alek first at his place and then me. I hopped out of the car with my bags on the ground. I was about to say goodnight when Vic insisted on helping me with my bags. I allowed him to help and when he did, we said goodbye and he left.

I walked up the stairs trying to carry all my bags at once and almost fell down. I changed my clothes into something more comfortable and went under the covers of my bed. It felt so warm and soft. I sighed and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling I got. I didn't need to worry about anything in my sleep. That's why sleeping is one of my favourite things to do - if I didn't have any nightmares. It lets you just be without any stress about anything. You have nothing to worry about.

I then fell asleep into a deep slumber.


	11. Chapter 11

I am sorry I haven't updated for a couple of days. The mid week is the worst of me when I'm the busyest and don't have much time to myself. I have tons of school realted stuff I have to do and outside school stuff.

Thank you for those who reviewed my last chapter! Means tons. Keep reading the story! I promise you'll love the next chapter (or the chapter after that)

I'm not sure when my next UD will be since my weekend is quite packed, but I'll try and get one in by Sunday.

Now enjoy,

* * *

I wasn't feeling that well the next morning. I had a minor headache and my stomach hurt. I almost got out of bed so I could get ready for work, but when I tried getting up, my headache increased. I lay back down on the bed and groaned loudly. I would have to call Gary and tell him that I couldn't go to work today. I picked up the phone on my night stand and dialled Gary's number. It rang a few times until he finally picked up.

"Hello, Gary? This is Rose. I'm just calling to inform I'm not coming to work today. I'm not feeling so well." I told him.

"That is no excuse. You are the worst actor ever. I thought I told you to be there at 7:30 sharp. Not any earlier nor later. So get your big ass up there and to work!" he yelled and hung up. I groaned, but this time in frustration. Gary could be such a pain in the ass sometimes. How could he not get the fact that I am not feeling well enough to get to work? And to add it up, he thought I was faking? Yes, he is an idiot.

So I tried getting up again only to have my already major headache cause loud thumping in my head. I tried getting downstairs to the kitchen and look for something to take for my headache. I finally managed to find some pills that would ease the pain for some time. The medicine didn't kick in until a while later though. I was too weak to take a shower so I went without it. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair nicely. I dressed, ate breakfast and headed for work.

My headache started coming again as I parked my car in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Luckily I had taken some medicine with me that I could take later on. I closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them again. I walked out of the car and walked towards the store. I groaned and held my hand on my head, rubbing it gently. I looked at the time and it showed exactly 7:29. I would check in just on time, 7:30 that is. I took another pill right before I started working.

I was going through my normal morning routines when someone walked over to me from behind me. I turned around and saw Gary looking at me with sympathy. Sorry, I mean fake sympathy.

"Oh, you do look sick. I am so sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you. Well, since you're already here, mind as well do your job." He said and walked away with a smug grin on his face. Oh, I'll show you something to smile about alright. I'll blame it on Gary if I pass out and end up in a hospital. As if I didn't end up there enough already...

"Rose, are you sick?" someone asked from beside me. I jumped and turned around to see Alek there.

"Oh, god Alek. You almost gave me a heart attack." I said and smacked him lightly. He didn't laugh at the joke though. Instead he put his hand on my forehead and then frowned.

"Rose, you're warming up. You need to go home and rest." He said sounding very worried. I shook my head and tried protesting against him, but he wasn't having it. "No, you are going home. I will take care of your work."

"No, Gary will kill me if I leave. He said I had to stay here and do my job. I can't leave." I tried saying, but he kept shaking his head.

"Come on, I'm taking you home." He said and took me by my arm. I sighed and obeyed. It was useless for me to try and go against him. He was strong and I was very weak at the moment. He took me to his car and I immediately asked him what about my car. "I will get it to you, don't worry." Was his reply. He got in and he drove me home from there.

He told me _not _to go out of the house. He said: "Go to bed and try to get some rest. I will come back after work to check up on you, so you better be here when I come back." he had said. I didn't take his warning for granted. I knew he would be coming back anyway, so the threat was useless. As soon as I made it to my room, I fell on top of the bed and fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was only wearing my jeans and top. I was also nicely tucked in my bed. I almost freaked out, but when I looked at the time I realized that Alek must've been here. I got up from bed with nothing but a soft thumping in the back of my head. The headache wasn't as bad anymore.

I walked down the stairs and looked through the house but found no one. I frowned at this. I would have to spend the rest of the day by myself here in my misery. I walked down the stairs all the way down to the other little lounging room I had there. I opened my big screen TV and sat down on the large couch putting my legs up. I flipped through the channels trying to find something to watch. I stopped at a channel that was showing Desperate Housewives. I liked that show too. Well now I do. I didn't like it before much, but when watching it too much, it grows on you. It was so dramatic and so funny too. Gaby was just about to say something to Carlos when the front door to the house opened. I got up cautiously, and listened as the foorsteps made their way down the stairs. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw it was just Alek and Vic.

"Hey guys, you scared me for a minute there." I said and smiled. This time Alek smiled too and Vic grinned at me. He came over and hugged me.

"Hey to you too. You know, I was really worried when I saw you weren't at work. I asked Alek about it and he told me you were sick, so I just had to come and see you." He said seeming proud of himself.

I laughed at him and sat back down motioning for them to do the same.

"So what are you watching here? Desperate Housewives?" Vic asked and eyed me strangely. "Since when do you watch Desperate Housewives?"

"Since now." I said holding my chin up and crossing my arms over my chest and turned my attention back to the TV.

"You must get very bored here by yourself. I heard you were sleeping though still at least an hour ago." Vic continued.

"Yeah, I actually woke up only a little while ago." I said. We talked a while after that Vic telling me stuff that had happened at work. Apparently a customer had accidentally dropped a case of eggs on the floor. It happenes at least once a month though. And then there were some youngsters running around the store goofing off. Nothing new there either.

Vic had to leave soon. He told me to get better and hoped I would get to work tomorrow. He left, but Alek staid with me. He asked if I was hungry. In truth, I was very hungry indeed, actually starving. So I gave him permission to make me something.

Alek and I were starting to get very close to each other. Not in any romantic way, of course, but more like in a sisterly-brotherly type of way. He seemed very protective of me and was always there for me if I needed something. A part of me knew it was because Dimitri had asked him for this, but another part knew that he thought of me more than as a friend too. I think it was easy being around him because he pretty much knew everything about me and my life. Not everything, but a lot. I was close to Vic, but sometimes it was hard since I couldn't tell him everything that's going on in my mind.

I walked back into my room, and when I did, a wave of a familiar scent hit me like a ton of bricks. I hadn't noticed it before when I woke up, but I sure did notice it now. Was he here? He was here when I was sleeping, I can't believe it. I started hyperventilating and was having trouble breathing for a moment. I took a deep breath in and tried to steady my breathing. It took me a couple of minutes, but finally managed to get it to normal. I didn't want Alek to know that I knew so I just played innocent like I hadn't just smelled what I did.

I freshened up a little and brushed my teeth that felt dirty. I walked back to the kitchen and smelt the delicious spaghetti Alek was making. I sat at the table located in the kitchen and smiled. I liked having Alek around when I had no one else. I had a strange feeling that I would be seeing the others in the near future, but you never know. Life is full of surprises, so I had no idea what to expect from the future.

When Alek was done, he set a plate of freshly cooked spaghetti in front of me. Yum, I thought. I dug in and took a full forkful into my mouth. It tasted so delicious. It's like I have a craving for Italian food or something. Yesterday it was Pizza and today it is Spaghetti. And what about tomorrow? What about a panini...that would be delicious...

I finished eating and Alek cleaned up the dishes. He had eaten with me since he was also hungry. We sat outside and just enjoyed the silence and the cool day air. I almost would fall asleep again, but Alek would start talking to me so I wouldn't. I think he saw my eyes droop every once in a while. Eventually he said I'd better get some more rest before I fall asleep on this uncomfortable chair again. He helped me to my room and to the bed. When I was laying under the covers and he was about to leave, he stopped and averted his gaze. He then glanced back at me for a quick moment, but let it be. Something told me he smelt what I had just some hours ago. He closed the lights and said goodnight. I heard the front door open and then close. I sighed and closed my eyes trying to get some sleep again.

When I woke up the next morning I felt perfectly fine. I wasn't feeling like shit anymore like yesterday. I didn't feel like getting up yet though. I had a lot of time to spare. I had woken up quite a lot earlier than necessary. I kept thinking about the conversation I had had with Alek back in Iowa.

_I sat down next to him and looked him squeare in the eyes. "Tell me everything." I said firmly. He nodded and started telling me about everything._

_"It started when Lissa, Christian, Dimitri, Eddie, Adrian and I were driving through Pennsylvania. We were going back to court after visiting friends in Virginia. We had to stop for the night so we stopped at here in Wilkes Barre. I had gone along with Adrian to Wal-Mart to get something. He was perfectly normal, when he said he'd be back, but when he did get back to me he was acting very strange. I actually saw you too, but at the moment, I had no idea who you were. _

_"When we got back to the hotel, Adrian whispered something to Dimitri and they walked into another room so they could apparently talk in private. All we could hear were hushed whipers and a loud, 'what'. Then I didn't know what it was they were talking about, but when Dimitri had told me, he had said that Adrian had seen you at the store._

_"The next day Dimitri said he had some business to take care of and while he was gone, Adrian had suggested we stay for some time more and get to know the town maybe. We were all merely shocked by this sudden suggestion. Adrian, from all of us, was the most eager to get back to court. That same day Dimitri had asked me a favour. He asked me if I could stay behind and look after you for him. I couldn't deny his request so I said I'd do it. He convinced me that they would make it back to court safely. Every one agreed on another day at Wilkes Barre, but demanded to leave the next day despite Adrian's complains. At first he had been confident on staying, but we managed to get him to go with the others._

_"The next day I started at Wal-Mart. And those parts you know. About a week later Dimitri came to visit with Adrian tagging along. I had no idea what he was doing here, but he said he wanted to see you again. Dimitri went to Wal-Mart that day. He went to see how you were doing and pretty much 'stalked' you for a while. But that is until you realized he was there, or you thought you saw him there. I saw you run through the store dragging Vic behind you. It was funny._

_"And at night, remember when you told me someone was outside your house?" he asked and I nodded my head suspiciously. "Well, that person there was Adrian. Not only does he have to stalk you in your dreams, he has to do it in real life as well. He didn't have the chance to see you earlier that day, so he stood outside the house hoping you would come out to the window so he could see you. It was very creepy, I have to say though. But that's Adrian for you. He is just one creepy man." He said, finishing his story I think. I let out a small laugh at the comment of Adrian._

_"So let me get this straight. So basically Adrian had seen me at Wal-Mart, told Dimitri, he telling you to look after me, Dimitri coming to see me and Adrian stalking me outside my house? Right?" he smiled and nodded. I nodded as well and thought for a moment, letting all of this sink in._

I checked the time again and it said it to be almost half past six. I got up from bed not wanting to be late from work. I took a short five minute shower, dried my hair quickly and got dressed. I grabbed something to munch on while driving and left. Just like Alek had promised me, my car was in the driveway. So I hopped in and drove off to work.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello,

I **thank you** for the reviews. As I promised, here is the next chapter.

Now this is **important**: Next week is very busy for me, so I can't UD really. I'll **try** to get an UD somewhere during the week though.

And as an **extra**: For the first 10 reviewers I will give a **sneak peak** for the next chapter. **Trust me** when I say that you will **want** that sneak peak.

But I can't give it to those who **doesn't** have **an account**, so sorry.

And lastly, I want to thank Rob Thomas and Nickelback for being a huge inspiration for my story, and other stories as well.

Enjoy,

* * *

Three weeks later I checked in with my doctor and scheduled an appointment. I thought it to be better not to act on my own and try to get the cast off by myself. Who knows what would have happened by that. So I called my doctor. We will be meeting tomorrow at 9 A.M.

I went to work at the normal time. It was friday now and I wanted to have a nice day at home with my friends so I invited them to come to my place to hang out. I would buy some junk food and rent movies we could watch. So after work I bought some stuff from Wal-mart and drove over to Blockbuster to rent movies. I got back home and decided on a little nap. I put my alarm clock to wake me up in an hour. I fell asleep quickly. I noticed it to be easier to fall asleep in the middle of the day than in the night. Sometimes, it would take me few hours to fall asleep at night, but at day, I fall asleep almost immediately, which is strange. I have no idea why this is, but it is. I've even tested it.

When I woke up an hour later, the door to my house opened a while after laying on my bed peacefully. I heard my friends step into the house, so I got out of bed, made sure my hair was fine and stepped out of my bedroom. I hugged them all and we went downstairs where I had put everything ready. Jake had bought pizza for all of us and a panini as a request from me. I had tasted one for the first time a few weeks ago and I absolutely loved it. After that, I've been eating them a lot. Now Jake had gotten me a cheese panini.

_I just finished working and I didn't have food at home. I did some grocery shopping and when I was inside my car, I remembered what I had wanted to taste today. I went back to the store and looked through everywhere until I finally I found them. I grabbed two packs of ham paninis, payed for them and got in my car. I drove home and unbagged my bags in the kitchen. I unwrapped the panini and put it in the little grill on my table. It was something between a toaster and a waffle iron. It was useful and it came in handy most of the time. _

_I grilled my panini and waited for the 'ding' noise. I almost flinched when it came just suddenly. I bit my lip in anticipation and took the bread out of the grill and wrapped it inside a paper. I took a huge bite out of it and chewed slowly, enjoying the taste of the ham panini. It was heavenly, maybe even better than pizza. I'm sorry my delicious pepperoni pizza, I betrayed you with the delicious ham panini._

_Someone knocked on my door and I went to open it. Christy stood there holding a bag in her hand. I let her in and she just stared at me._

_"What are you eating?" she asked eyeing the food in my hand._

_"It is called a panini, and it's very delicious." I said and took another huge bite out of it._

_"Well finish up cause we're going out." She said pointing at the panini and walking up to my room. I rolled my eyes at her and finished up quickly. I had no idea why she was making me go out again, but I didn't mind. I liked getting out of here every once in a while._

_"Come on! We have to get you ready!" she yelled from my room. I sighed with annoyance and stepped inside hell.  
_

Ever since then I've been eating them weekly. Sometimes even more in a week than once. I can't help it, they are just that damn delicious. That just means that I have to go to the gym more often to loose the extra calories.

"Hey, let's watch The Hangover first!" Jake yelled from beside me and made me flinch. Christy giggled at Jake's behaviour. It was usually cute how they acted with each other, but it was plain annoying knowing that it wouldn't last. I have a feeling that it will be off again in a couple of weeks.

"Dude, that's exactly why I got the movie." I replied coolly and put the DVD inside the player. I haven't seen The Hangover yet. I've seen the trailer and it seemed pretty good, but nothing else. I've also heard a lot of other people's comments and they thought it's a great movie and very funny.

The people were right, the movie was awesome. I cracked up so many times I felt like I was choking. The chinease guy was especially funny and Alan as well. We were all laughing while watching the movie - even Alek. Alek's laugh was more controlled though while the other guy's laughs were like loud roars. But what do you expect from a guardian?

There was still one single piece of pizza left. I narrowed my eyes at it and looked up at the others. Jake met my gaze and narrowed his eyes as well. He was challenging me. The pizza box was at least three feet away. I glared at him, and he glared back. Then I grinned and got up from the couch fast. He huffed and followed behind. I almost got it when I got knocked on the ground. I groaned and hissed at him.

"Oh, come on! Watch the hand, you dimwit!" I yelled. I heard a lot of laughter from the couch. Oh yeah, just laugh at us, laugh at my broken arm. Actually, my hand didn't even hurt, but it was still difficult having the cast on my arm. I rolled us around so Jake was under me. I got up and grabbed the last piece of pizza from the box. I held it up yelling: "Success!" And every one laughed at me. Well, what do you expect from Rose Hathaway?

Jake got up from the floor still glaring at me. "Now, was that fair?" he asked eyeing me disapproavingly.

I gaped at him. "Was _that _fair?" I said back with a mean glare and took a bite out of the pizza. He stuck out his tongue and sat back down. It was funny how we still acted like a bunch of kids sometimes - just like now. I have matured, of course, but sometimes it's nice to act a little younger. It's healthy to do so sometimes.

After the first movie, I put another movie on. We already watched a comedy, now we'll watch a romance. The guys groaned as I said it was a romance movie, but I didn't say what movie. We watched (500) Days Of Summer. The funny thing about this was that Vic and Jake actually liked the movie. They were talking all through the movie about the leading actor and what he should have done and what he should do. It was funny to say the least. Alek smiled while watching, and Christy and I just laughed and 'awe'd at everything.

I still had a few movies left, but we took a brake from watching movies for a moment. Vic said he needed to go to the bathroom, and while he was there, Alek's phone rang. I narrowed my eyes and he looked at me apologetically, and mouthed 'Dimitri'. I nodded my head with a smile and he took off. He walked outside to the backyard to answer his phone.

"What was that?" Christy asked me. "I saw that he said something to you." She said.

"It's nothing to worry about." I said and tried giving her a convincing smile. She frowned and nodded.

When Vic got back and Alek after Vic, I put the next movie playing while showing a devious expression on my face. Jake stared at me suspiciously while Christy laughed in conspiracy. Christy was in with what I put on next, but the guys had no idea. I heard loud groans and protests as the movie started.

"Oh, come on, Rose! High School Musical, seriously?" Jake yelled at me. I laughed with Christy and nodded my head. I had rented High School Musical just to annoy the hell out of the guys. I even put the movie on karaoke so we could sing along. I personally didn't have that much favour for the movie, but it was fun.

When the first song came on, I got up with Christy and we faced each other acting nervous. We started singing to each other and listened as Jake and Vic laughed at us from the background. I didn't like the song much either, but it was still fun to sing it. I'm ashamed to admit that I also know the dances from the movie. So we danced a long to the lasst song, "We're all in this together". I pulled a horrified Alek up to dance too. He didn't do anything, he just stood there with a grimace. I laughed and told him to do somehting. When I studied his expression, he actually looked like he wanted to dance along. He sighed and when the chorus came again, he started dancing too. I stopped what I was doing completely and stared at Alek incredulously. He laughed - actually laughed - when he stopped dancing and smirked.

"Hey dude, you can dance!" Jake yelled. That set us into another fit of laughter.

"Oh, Alek, you never said you liked High School Musical!" I yelled at him playfully.

"Don't blame me, blame my cousin's son." He replied.

It was getting late and the guys were leaving. Christy was staying behind and sleeping over for the weekend. We were having a sleepover. We did this every now and then. We would take turns: I went to her place, she came to mine, and so on. I liked to be at Christy's place more, but she said she liked spending time in here too. I don't know why she did, but she said it was because my place was ncie and comfy while her's was big and open.

When Alek was sat the door I noticed his gaze. He looked like he was hiding something. I raised my eyebrows at him and he shook his head. I narrowed my eyes at him. He _was _hiding something from me. I would ask him when I saw him again. I closed the door behind him and walked back down. Christy was sitting there eating a bag of chips.

"So, Chrissy, it's just you and me." I said while plopping down on the couch. She smiled and agreed. We thought it would be fun to play 'I have never'. Christy went first.

"I have never...walked outside wearing nothing but a bikini. And I don't mean at the beach or pool. I mean outside in town." She said. I smiled sheepishly and drank form my coke. We played with soda since we didn't have anything else. She laughed and asked me when.

"It was sometime in my teenage years, don't ask." I said and laughed with her. Now it was my turn.

"I have never...had sex in my life. I am a virgin and I'm proud of it." I said raising my cup up like making a toast. She laughed and took a drink.

"You did that on purpose!" she yelled at me. "Now it's my turn. I have never kissed a guy over five years older than me." She said. I let out a nervous laugh and drank. She gasped and immediately was asking me who it was.

My eyes saddened while she asked me the question. "It was a little over six years ago." I said in a low voice. She gasped and hugged me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry about a sad memory." She said. My friends all knew something happened when I left my real home. I never told them though, and they never asked, thankfully so. "Sorry," she mumbled and smiled weakly. "Maybe we should just leave it there for now."

"It's alright, Chrissy. So what do you think, time for bed?" I asked. She squealed and nodded. I took out the sleeping bags from a closet and put them on the ground. We always slept in sleeping bags while sleeping over. It was childish, I know, but it was fun. It's fun to relieve childhood memories this way. I remember when I was young, Lissa and I used to sleep in sleeping bags when I slept over at her parent's house for a weekedn with her.

We talked for a while until we finally fell asleep. I didn't dream about anything. I actually wished I could dream about my old life. I wished I could have dreamt about Lissa and Dimitri, especially Dimitri. The more I thought about it, I wished I could see Dimitri again. I wished he would come to me. But why hasn't he? I remember asking that question from Alek after he had told me basically everything. I knew he would come eventually though. If what Alek said was true, that he still loved me, he would come. I was sure about it.

The weekend was spent at my place hanging out and talking about girl stuff. I went to see my doctor the next morning while Chrissy was still sleeping.

"So what exactly happened to you?" he asked sounding amused. "Again," he continued.

I glared at him and frowned. "I fell down a flight of stairs." I said lying to him. I didn't in fact fall down a flight of stairs. I got attacked by a strigoi. Of course I couldn't tell him that though.

"Alright...try not getting yourself hurt again, will you?" he asked and smiled. I laughed and nodded.

Alek had called me on Sunday to check up on me. I told him we were fine and nothing was wrong. It was really funny how he always called if he couldn't see me. On that same day I went to the gym with Christy. She protested against it, but I got her to come with me after saying there would be a lot of hot guys. She agreed almost immediately. She wasn'tt the type of girl to go to the gym. She was probably more worried about breaking her nails than anything.

I watched as she flirted with some of the guys there. She was dating my friend and she was flirting with other guys. She had seriously problems, but she isn't the only one. I was once again at the puncing bag. I finally had the cast off and I could freely do whatever. I didn't make too much pressure though. I didn't want to make a hole like that one time. But my emotions were flying everywhere at the time. I would need to start woking out regularly again. I also needed to work on my moves more. If another strigoi attacked me, I would have to be in shape and able to fight the strgoi off no matter what. I barely made it out alive last time, and I didn't want that to happen again.

The sun was shining nicely today. So after being at the gym for a couple of hours, we went back to my place for a change of clothes and went for a walk outside. We walked until we hit town and Christy said she wanted to stop by at Barnes & Noble. She wanted to pick up a recipe book so she could cook something. She said: "Jake is coming over next wednesday and we're going to cook together something."

I was surprised by hearing this. Never have I heard that they had cooked together, this was the first time. Then I thought that maybe it would finally work out with them, but then again, it could just be a momentary thing. They could be getting more serious now and still brake up again after a while. So we made her stop and she bought her book. We walked back to my place after that. We sat at the backyard watching the sun set. It was beautiful. You rarely see the sun set here like now, so this was amazing. I wish I could go somewhere where I could see this every day. Maybe in a few years. Right now I needed to be here.


	13. Chapter 13

Hello,

Um, wow, I wasn't expecting the reviews I got from the last chapter. I thank you. *Hugs every one of my reviewers* You guys still rock!

Well, here is the next chapter, I promise you will love it.

Since It took me so so long to UD, I wrote you a bitty longer chapter. Every time it takes me this long to UD I will try and make the chapters longer.

P.S. The chapter looked so much longer in my wordpad O:

Enjoy reading,:)

* * *

"So, I need two volunteers to take the night shift tonight. Serena is sick and Mike is abroad. So who is willing to come work an extra shift tonight?" I looked around and no one spoke a work nor did anything.

When most of the staff had gotten to work on Monday, Gary had called us all in to the staff room because he had something to say. Apparently Serena, a woman about thirty and blonde, was sick, and Mike, a middle aged man whose hair has started to grayen, was abroad. So Gary needed someone else to take their shifts.

I nudged Vic next to me and raised my eyebrows. He grinned at me and nodded. We both raised our hand at the same time and grinned. Gary pretended not to notice this at first. "Anyone?" he asked looking around again. There were a few snickers and coughs. Gary averted his gaze and finally, unwillingly, stopped his gaze on us. He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. "Alright, Rose and Vic you got the night shift. Be here at 11 P.M. That's when I leave." He said and then left the room.

Vic and I high fived each other and laughed. We loved being here at night when Gary wouldn't be here, but at home. That meant we could do whatever we pleased without his complains. We once worked the night here and had a blast. But someone had ratted on us. We still didn't know who it was, but it's in the past. It's not like it matters anymore anyway.

I asked later that day if both Alek and Vic wanted to hit the gym after work. We could work out a bit, stop by at home and then go to work again. One of the employees, Vincent had gotten into a wee bit of an accident earlier today and left for the hospital. Gary needed someone to cover his shift he was supposed to keep in the night and asked someone else for it, so naturally Alek agreed.

Alek's phone rang again while we were sparring at the gym. I wonder why Dimitri was calling him so often lately. Alek wouldn't tell me anything about what they talked about or why he called. He said it wasn't important - which of course meant it was something important. What does he think I am, an idiot? No, I am not an idiot. I'm smarter people think for me to be.

Vic offered to spar with me while Alek was somewhere taking the call. Vic asked numerous times about Alek's mystery calls, suspecting a secret lover, but it just made me laugh - and hard. It felt gross thinking about what he just said. It was wrong in so many ways. So I just told Vic that he had business calls. And it was a mistake. He just kept asking me more questions. Eventually I got tired of the questioning and told him to leave.

"But...what did I do?" he asked looking all innocent. His expression made me laugh, but I kept my face composed to hide it.

"Just go." I said pointing to the opposite direction of me. He grumbled and walked away with his arms crossed over his chest. When he was out of hearing range, I chuckled and picked up my bottled water off the ground and took a long gulp. I sighed and let a small smile come upon my lips.

Alek walked over to me smiling. I asked him what he was smiling about, but he gave me the usual answer, It's nothing. I growled at him dangerously. He backed away a little holding his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, okay, It's nothing really, it's just I heard that Eddie and Mia are engaged. I'm just happy for them." He said. I heard the hesitation in his voice he was doing great job hiding, but not well enough. I knew he was lying, but didn't tell him that. Instead I told him how great that is, and we started sparring again.

I dropped Vic home after the gym so he could get a shower and do whatever else he needed to do. Alek had taken his own car home. When I got home, I showered and changed my clothes. I put on just a pair of sweats and a tank top covered with a red sweater. I put my hair up in a ponytail and left it like that. I didn't need to do much involving my outlook. It's like anyone was going to actually see me tonight anyway, right?

I was sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner when my phone rang. I picked it up and talked with Vic who was eating as well. We actually talked for a few hours talking about different things and saying whenever we would be starting doing something else than we were already doing.

"Ready to leave?" Vic asked me when it was time to leave.

"Yeah, I just need to get my bag and I'm done. I'll see you there, bye." I said. After he said goodbye we hung up. I got to my room and picked up my bag from the floor, put on my trainers and left. When I reached the store, I saw Alek standing right in front of the entrance door waiting for me. When I reached him he said that Gary is waiting for us in his office. When we got to the office, we just walked in and Vic was already there.

"Alright," Gary started, "I'm going to head off for the night. Victor, take a good care of the store while I'm gone. I'm expecting you to be at the control room watching the monitors and making sure nothing is out of order. Now I want no monkey business, so behave." He said and dismissed us.

It was 3 A.M human time.

I walked around the store holding my hand up like a gun. We were messing around with Vic, acting like a couple of secret agents. We were looking for a criminal and I had 'lost' him. I walked behind the fruit department carefully, looking for him. There weren't much people here, so it was okay, a few men who walked by stared, but other than that, it was all good.

"Rose, look out!" Vic yelled just before I was attacked by Alek. I dodged him fast and 'shot' him, but he managed to get out of the way just in time. I cursed under my breath and started running away. I had run out of bullets. I ran behind a clothes rack where Vic was kneeling down at.

"I need some more bullets, you got some?" I asked, breathless.

"Sure, here." He said pretending to give me some. "Alright, I saw him run towards the cash registers. You go that way and I will go this way. Go!" he yelled. We started running opposite directions to the location Vic said he saw Alek run to. Surely, we saw him behind one of the cash registers. A fellow female worker was at that register trying not to giggle. I think she just blew his hiding spot. Actually, he did it himself already.

I sneaked from behind hoping to catch him by surprise. It didn't work though. He saw Vic coming from the other direction and somehow heard me come from behind. Damn those dhampir senses. He jumped over the register and started running. I ran after him while Vic started circling from somewhere else. I ran after Alek trying to catch him. I 'shot' him a few times, but he dodged. I almost got him at one time, but he was too fast. I reminded myself to start running more as well.

The aisle was wide and had a lot of space. I saw in the distance a small trampoline and smirked. I saw my opening here. Just as he passed the trampoline, I jumped on top of it giving me a boost and jumped on Alek's back, making him fall on the ground. Vic came over just in time and let out a loud victory scream. We all laughed at this and called it quits. I just loved working in the night.

Alek said he'd better get back to work and Vic said that he was going to check on the surveillance cameras. Gary had given him the job to work at the control room since Mike wasn't available nor was his replacement, Benjamin. My work was pretty much the same as it always was. I just walked around the store doing nothing. Night-time wasn't as busy as day-time.

I was once again at the electronics department. I sat down on a couch and watched the TV playing some weird channel that showed old shows. Yes, I was bored to be doing this. I got up and walked to the DVDs. I looked through them listing in my mind which movies I have seen and which I have not. Most of them I have, but some were yet to be seen. Another reminder: go rent more movies after I've brought the old ones back.

I heard him before I saw him. I didn't know what to do, so I did nothing. I completely froze in place. I fought the though of turning around and facing him, but I didn't know if I could. My feet were stuck on the ground in place and I couldn't move them.

"Roza," he breathed out.

Then I panicked. I felt like my feet were completely controlling me. I didn't want to do what I did next, but I did anyway. Before he could reach me, I started running away. As expected, I heard him running after me yelling for me to stop. This was exactly what he was afraid I would do and I was doing just that. I bet he is thinking how much he regrets coming to me at the moment.

I ran around the store with him right behind me thinking of what to do. That's when the imaginary light bulb went on over my head and I got an idea. I looked around looking for the security cameras. I grinned when I saw one ahead of me. Now I just had to hope that Vic was paying attention. When I got to the camera, I stopped for a milli-second and pointed behind me looking panicked, then started running again.

I was stupid, I know. I realized I had ran around the store when I got back to the electronics. At that moment Vic just appeared out of nowhere and attacked Dimitri pinning him to the ground. I stopped mid-track and tripped. It hurt, but I got up quickly and brushed it off like nothing had happened. That's when I actually dared myself to look at Dimitri. He was just like I had remembered, but older. Six years older. You could see it in his appearance, but he actually looked even sexier than before.

I was out of breath and noticed him to be as well. Vic was still on top of Dimitri on the floor. Dimitri could've easily gotten Vic off of him, but I guess he didn't want to make a scene like I always used to. "Get off of me!" Dimitri yelled at Vic in a furious manner. I was shocked to say the least. You don't usually see Dimtiri this pissed off. I guess he has changed in time.

"No way." He said.

"Rose." Dimitri said sternly at me. I grimaced immediately. Vic turned around to look at me incredulously.

"Rose, do you know this guy?" he asked. I hesitated for a moment before answering him with a sigh.

"Yes." I said and stared down.

"You are one weird person." He muttered as he got off of Dimitri and offered a hand to him. Dimitri took it and got up. "Rose seriously, I know you've been pretty paranoid lately, but why? You know him, why?" he asked in a teasing pained voice.

"Shut up!" I said and glared at him.

"Whatever." He said and started turning away, but turned back around. "I seriously hope you know what you're getting yourself into. She's a one crazy woman, just saying." He said and walked away. Vic - a friend I could always depend on.

We both stood there without a word for a moment. This wasn't the place for this confrontation so I told Dimtiri to follow me. I started walking to the staff room without a back glance if he really was following me, but I knew he was. I let him in first then got in myself and locked the door behind me. I just leaned against the door looking down. I didn't know what do say, or to do. I hadn't given much thought on what I would do if I ever got to this situation.

Dimitri approached me slolwy and reached out to lift my chin up so he could look into my eyes. "Roza..." he repeated.

"Hi, Dimitri." I said and smiled just a little. He sighed and let his hand fall beside him. "So," I started, feeling a little uncomfortable. "How have you been doing?" I asked him.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked with a look of utter pain. I bit my lip a little too hard and nodded. I already knew how he has been, but I needed to hear it from him himself.

"I have been feeling like shit. When we didn't find you anywhere in Spokane, I thought you were dead or turned, one way or another, not a dhampir anymore. I was dead inside. I got mad and started breaking everything in the house. I just lost it. When we got back to the Academy, I didn't leave my room for a while. I sat on my bed with thoughts of you and the mistakes I made between us. I kept thinking how I kept pushing you away, hurting you. All I wanted was you, to be with you, to kis s you, make love to you. I messed it all up and blamed myself. I wish I could undo everything so maybe all this wouldn't have happened. Or maybe it wouldn't have changed anything, I don't know. All I'm saying is that I was a wreck, but I'm here now and so are you. I know that you still love me, so don't even try to deny that." He said.

I was in tears after everything he just told me. I had caused him so much hurt and pain. I felt so bad for doing so. "I'm sorry." I whispered with a shaky voice. He caressed my cheek with his hand softly and I leaned into his touch.

"Don't apologise. There's nothing to forgive. The important thing is that you are still here and alive and we're together. I love you, Roza. Please don't ever dare to leave me again." He whispered his face only inches from mine. By now I was breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry Dimitri for not going back. I feel horrible for the pain I've put you all through. I promise not to leave again. I love you too, Dimitri." I said looking deep into his eyes. I saw all the love there, nothing else. I'm sure my eyes showed the same.

Dimitri leaned in and pressed his lips softly against mine in a soft, loving kiss. Our lips moved together in the familiar way they used to so many years ago and I suddenly felt safe again. I felt like my life would get back to what it was before and everything would be okay. I felt almost whole again. The only thing that was missing is Lissa and the others. But as long as I had Dimtiri, I was perfectly content.

The kiss turned more urgent as we kissed. I noticed to be pressed against the wall between Dimitri and the wall. He had his hands on my hips pushing us closer together. I had my other hand on his neck while the other was tangled up in his hair pushing my lips against his harder and more fiercely. I heard him moan against my lips and smile just a little, which made me smile as well. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him. He held me up while we kept our lips together and kissed. We had to pull away for air every now and then, but would continue again a moment later. This went on for some time.

When I finally really pulled away, we leaned our foreheads together while trying to catch out breaths. We were both breathing heavily after a heavy make-out session. He let me go so I could stand on my own. When I looked at him, I saw his eyes were gleaming with pure happiness. His look was mirrored with my own. We were both happy at the moment.

"I need to get back to work." I whispered.

"Alright. But if you don't mind, I'd like to hang around for the rest of the night." He said as he smiled lovingly. I agreed and we left hand in hand. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as we walked and neither could Dimitri. We ran into Vic on the way and he had his mouth hanging open in shock when he saw our entwined fingers, holding hands.

"Rose, are you two together?" he asked. I nodded my head sheepishly. "But how? Not once have you been out with a guy while here, suddenly this guy appears and you pretty much run from him and now you are together?" he asked in disbelief.

"To tell you the truth, we already had a thing about, almost seven years ago. That's when we first met." I said hoping he would understand at some level.

"Oh." He said like it was nothing. Right after, realization seemed to get him. "Oh..." he repeated, but in a different tone that said 'Oh, almost seven years ago when that something you haven't told us about happened'.

"Yeah..." I said. "Well, we're just going to go now. Get back to the control room!" I said to him hoping to get a reaction. He stuttered and walked away. I shook my head and smiled apologetically at Dimitri.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Um, it was nothing." I said. But then I realized I sounded just like Alek and grimaced. "Sorry. No, it's just that, my friends don't know anything that happened before I came here. They only know that something bad happened then." I explained and looked down. Dimitri stopped me and lifted my chin up again to meet his gaze.

"Don't worry about anything. It was many years ago, forget about it. You're fine." He said and kissed me. I wound my arms around him and pulled him into a hug. I felt his strong arms go around me and hug me back. Our moment was all too soon interrupted by a loud cough. We pulled apart and saw Alek standing there.

"Does this mean I can quit now?" he asked with furrowed eyebrows. We both laughed at him and Dimitri said it was fine. Alek sighed in relief and smiled. "So you two are together again, right?" he asked.

"Well, obviously." I answered with a raised eyebrow and heard both Alek and Dimitri gasp. I understood the gasp to be fake though.

"Rose, you can do the one eyebrow-thing." Dimtiri said in a teasing tone. I pushed him a little and laughed with them.


	14. Chapter 14

Hiya,

Wow, it's been so so so so so so long. And so on. Too long. I seriously felt empty inside when I couldn't write for a couple weeks. I felt like a piece was missing. But now I feel better :) I promised a longer chapter, so here you go. The longest I have _ever _written for a chappie. Hope your happy, cause I am! I think you're happy anyways...cuz of Spirit Bound and all...well, I'll admit that I'm not happy about that. I'm jealous.

Alll you wonderous people have gotten the chance to already read the book, unlike some! I won't get to read it until the end of next month, so it sucks big time. But I'll wait...as long as I do get to read it. I've already heard a few spoilers from the book, which I so didn't want to hear - I want everything to be a surprise - so I'd also appreciate it if I didn't get any spolers from anyone, thnx :)

Remember that I'm very busy right now, so again, I won't be able to update in a while. But after I'm done with school, I'll update more! I had my physichs test today - it went great! The teacher was super fast on checking the tests, and by lunch, he had already almost checked all of them! One down - three to go! Tomorrow I have a repeat of my social studies test. WISH ME LUCK. I will be seriously needing it. Seriously. It's one of the hardest subjects next to history - for me.

But I will stop here. Enjoy the chapter I have created for you.

Enjoy,

* * *

Dimitri followed me around and kept me company all night. It annoyed Vic that Dimitri hung around, but he didn't say anything, I could see it in his expression every now and then. It made me laugh that he was kind of jealous that Dimitri was getting all my attention right now. It was cute.

Alek had gone home to sleep after Dimitri said that he would be staying here with me. I couldn't help but still feel like a little kid who had to be watched, afraid that I would do something or something would happen to me. Well, me being me, it was quite possible, but I always managed to get out of everything.

This was going to be a hard day saying that we still had to do our normal shift in the daytime. I hope I don't fall asleep standing like I did one time. It was so embarrassing. Jake had filmed it with his camera phone and showed everyone who didn't get to see it. At first I was mad at him, but laughed with them after. When you get embarrassed, it's best to just laugh along.

We made a deal with Vic that we would go take a short nap in turns. We would take thirty minutes each. Dimitri was right there next to me every time I went to rest a bit. Of course it just made it harder for me to try and get some rest with him there right next to me, but I wanted him there.

"So why didn't you come to me earlier?" I asked him when I was stocking the shelves with his help. He scrunched together his eyebrows and didn't answer me for a while. I think he was thinking what to answer.

He sighed and stopped stocking the shelves, so I stopped immediately also. "I didn't come earlier for so many reasons. We have been at court and I am Lissa's guardian. I had to stay with her and make sure nothing happened. There were a few times when I tried coming to you, but I never could. The first time was when you and Alek went to Iowa. I was here, but you weren't. The second time I didn't want to wake you. Alek told me you were sick and I couldn't make myself to wake you up. I got a call from Lissa. She was worried and wanted to know where I was." He said.

He was silent again as I continued my work. He started talking again a moment later. "She still doesn't know." He said. I looked at him waiting for him to continue. "Actually, Adrian, Alek and I are the only ones that do know. The others have no clue. I'm sure that you are eager to meet everyone again, right?" he asked.

"Well, kind of. I wouldn't say eager. Maybe nervous would be more accurate." I said and grimaced. A little part of me was eager to see them, yes, but mostly I was nervous of their reactions. I've been told numerous times that they missed me and everything, but I couldn't help but be doubtful. I really do have changed…

"What do you say, do you want to come to court with me?" he suddenly asked. He caught me off guard completely. I froze up just a little and stopped what I was doing. I thought for a moment. Should I go? Maybe I should and get it over with. I miss them and desperately want to see Lissa again. And I most definitely want to see the little Rose. A small smile had crept up on my lips and Dimitri noticed.

"So, is that a yes?" he asked sounding hopeful.

"Yes," I said and smiled. He hugged me and kissed me hard right then and there. I was smiling the whole time he was kissing me. I felt the small smile on his lips as well. He pulled away and kissed my forehead.

"You won't regret it, I promise." He whispered.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned around and saw Vic there. "I just thought I'd tell you that Gary will be here soon." He said. I nodded and told Dimitri to act like a normal shopper, and if Gary came, to act like he was asking me something. That was so Gary wouldn't get suspicious and get mad and eventually fire me. We're just taking precautions here.

"When do you want to come with me?" he asked me when I was pushing a cart with all kind of stuff inside the storage room.

"I don't know, but not yet. I was thinking that you could come spend the weekend with me, you know, just the two of us? We haven't seen each other for six years." I said with my man-eating smile. He chuckled and stepped closer to me while still walking.

"I kind of like that idea." He murmured and I heard Vic coming from my left, whisper-yelling that Gary was here. The night sure went fast. It always did in the night-time. Right then I saw Gary walking towards us with a huge smile on his face, which looked very strange for him. He was never grinning like he was now.

"Hello, how was the night life here at the great Wal-Mart of Wilkes Barre?" he asked, motioning for the whole store with his hands. Yes, yes something was definitely wrong with this guy.

"Gary, are you alright?" Vic asked him. He just laughed and kept smiling. Normally, if someone had asked him that, he probably would've growled and glared or something.

"Oh, I'm just great." He said and started walking to his office. Vic and I stared after him like he had just grown two heads and a tail.

"Wow was that strange." I murmured and glanced at Vic from the corner of my eye seeing him with furrowed eyebrows and having his head cocked to the side. Dimitri chuckled beside me and I turned to stare at him now.

"Sorry, your reactions are just priceless." He said with another chuckle. I cracked up as well. I bet our expressions were idiotic and stupid. But we did just see our supervisor all giddy and smiling, you know.

"See ya." Vic said and walked away again.

I turned around to face Dimitri about to say something when he beat me to it.

"I need to leave in a couple of hours. I'm sorry, Roza. Lissa is expecting me back. I'll figure out an excuse and come back in the weekend, alright?" he asked with hopeful eyes. As I said yes, he picked me up and kissed me hard right on that spot. I was sad that he would have to leave, but knowing that he would be back comforted me.

Just as he said, a few hours later he was gone. I had to stay at work, so I couldn't go with him. For some reason, Alek showed up to work that same day as well, just after Dimitri left.

_"Alek, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be gone already?" I asked him._

_"I couldn't just leave you unprotected, now could I?" he asked with a smirk. I laughed and smacked his arm._

_"I told you, I ain't no kid." I said. He chuckled and hugged me. Some way, I kinda knew he wouldn't leave. He wouldn't just leave after everything we've been through. We've grown fond of each other. I need him here. _

_"Besides, I did promise Dimitri I'd look after you when he's not here. He's not here, so I can't leave."_

_"Awe, you're just too sweet." I said pinching his cheek lightly. "I'm surprised you haven't found yourself a girlfriend yet." I said and laughed when I saw his face redden. Awe, he was embarrassed. He looked so cute when his cheeks were red as tomatoes._

_"That's not even funny." He said._

After I finished work, I went back home to get my gym clothes and headed for the gym. It's been a while again. I made sure I had my boxing gloves with me. I was in the mood to kick some ass at the punching bag. I had some extra energy that had to be let out. It was mostly good, but there was some negative enegry I would feel.

I remember once when my friends made me go to a therapist. I didn't know it was a therapist at first until I got there though. The guys had totally hoaxed me. I've forgiven them already since it was about one and a half years ago. But it was still an awful thing for them to do to me. They practically implied me being crazy. It hurt.

But when I went there, I found out my therapist to actually be a moroi spirit user. I was shocked to say the least. It wasn't often you ran into a spirit user around here. I've only met three, but know four. I talked with the therapist after our first meeting for some time, then cut contact completely.

_"Guys, where are you taking me?" I asked for the thousandth time. They said we'd be going somewhere, but they didn't say where. It bugged me, but I let them lead me where ever. it couldn't be that bad, right? If only I had known better._

_"What!" I shrieked when we arrived. My so-called 'best friends' had taken me to a therapist called Dr. Voda. I was alost yelling at them and they wee trying to calm me down anf keep my voice low. I was mad that they would do this to me._

_"Oh, come on. You're already here and we've already paid. Do this for us." Vic tried resoning._

_"You guys set me up!" I accused. _

_Right then, the door to the therapists office opened up and a middle-aged woman with black, short hair and amber coloured eyes walked out with a smile on her face. You could see from her appearance and sucky make-up job that she was extremely pale, just like moroi usually were. Pale and thin. _

_"So, which one of you is Rosemarie Hathaway?" she asked politely. And they even dared to sign me in with my full name!_

_"Rose," I said getting up from a couch I was being held at. I heard my friends let out a puff of air, all of them. I left my friends and walked in with the doctor. _

_"So, Rose," she started when we had both sat down opposite each other," My name is Dr. Clarienne Voda, but you can call me Clary." She said. I nodded before she continued. "So why are you here today, Rose?" she asked._

_"Honesty, I have no idea. My friends tricked me, telling me they'd be taking me out, instead taking me here." I answered._

_"Uh-huh. Now would you have any idea why they would do something like that?" she asked._

_"I guess, because I haven't been feeling my best, I guess. I have nightmares, strange puffs of anger, I'm sometimes sad and stuff." I said and was rewarded with another 'uh-huh'. "You're a moroi, right?" I asked out of the blue. Clary stopped writing on a clip board and lifted her gaze on me in surprise. _

_"How did you know?" she asked and I merely shrugged. Her gaze furrowed for a moment until realization hit her. "Hathaway, you are Janine's daughter, aren't you? I knew I recognized the name somewhere." She said happily and even laughed a bit. "Wow, but, Rose, what are you doing here? Last time I heard, you were supposed to guard the last Dragomir princess, am I right?" she asked._

_I didn't feel comfortable answering, but I tried my best to. "Well, you are right, saying I was supposed to, but am not. It's as simple as that."_

_"Well, I understand you may not want to talk about it, but you can confide in me. We come from the same worlds and I am a therapist, for crying out loud." She said with a small smile. I didn't know what to do, or not to do, but I decided eventually to just tell her. It would be easier and it would feel like a huge weight had been lifted off my back. And it did.  
_

_I went to see Clary for the next few months more after that. She gave me a lot of advise, and I could just tell her anything that was burdening me. Normally I wouldn't have done that. Normally I wouldn't even have confided with her that way in the first place. So that's why, I broke contact with her. I found out that she was using compulsion on me to tell her things. I guess that was her way of reverse pshycology. I didn't like people who used compulsion on me. She could've gotten me to do god knows what and tell her anything I knew. That proved, she couldn't be trusted. _

I got to the gym and started stretching. I sat there for a moment until I felt someone approach me. I looked up and a guy came up to me looking quite shy. I averted my gaze and thought where I had seen him before. I've seen him here at the gym before. He comes here often. I've seen him watching me a few times when sparring with someone.

"Um, hi, my name is Dirk." He introduced himself. I chuckled just a bit and introduced myself as well. How does a hot teenage guy like him have an idiotic name like Dirk? God, that's embarrassing. "I was just thinking, you know, if you could help me out?" he asked nervously. This guy was seriously nervous. "I kinda want to leard how to fight." He said sheepishly.

"You can't fight?" I asked in disbelief. He shook his head and I smirked. "That's strange. You look exactly the kind of person who would know how to fight." I said and chuckled again.

"Yeah, well, I don't. I do look very buff, yes, but I don't know how to fight, and that's pretty uncomfortable to admit." He said.

I thought about it for a moment. Should I teach this guy, or not? What if Dimitri walked right in and saw us on the mat? No, he couldn't. He's at court. I got up and stood in front of him. Wow, he was tall. I stood up straight facing this guy and smiled. "Sure, let's start now." I said and started walking away, but stopped suddenly. I turned to face him with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you want to learn in the first place?" I asked him.

"Because...I...want to learn?" he said, making it sound more like a question. I laughed and let it be. There are just probably some bullies messing around with him. This guy was a very well built teengae guy. There's a possibility that he's being bullied.

I guess I'll just have to stop by his school then, won't I?

The training session with D went fine. He was a fast learner and was very eager to learn all the things I was teaching him. We made a deal to be here the same time next week. He said he'd pay, but I refused to take his money. I wanted to help, so there is a diference.

"Ugh...we should've gotten paid for going to school!" I growled.

At home I took a shower and went straight to bed. I had a long night-day, now I was ready for a long sleep. I think I couldn't take anymore of being awake. I fell asleep quickly and Adrian was right there to greet me and hug me, and not freaking leaving me alone! Didn't he realize I needed my beauty sleep?

"Woah, little dhampir, your aura is not showing any nice colours right now. I think I'll then let you sleep, is that fine?" he asked carefully. I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest. He backed away slowly holding his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, I'm going. I'll see you soon, I hope, little dhampir." He said. I told him goodbye as well and he was gone. Finally, some peace and quiet.

When I woke up the next day, there was a note on my bed, With curiosity, I opened it. It read:

Rose,

Dimtiri called some while ago. He told me to tell you that he misses you badly and loves you very much. He also said to call him as soon as you get the message.

X, Alek

I laughed at the letter in my hand. He actually signed it with an X sign. Does he even know what they are? Well, who doesn't. I was about to pick up my phone when I realized I don't have Dimtiri's phone number. Oh, fuck. Oh fuck indeed. There goes all our fun. And then I actually registered the letter. Alek had been here. That damn ninja Russian! I'll have to talk about it with him later on.

I got to work and looked around for Alek. He was standing in front of a stack of enegry drinks. I'd be cool to know what he's thinking about right now, but I have my own worries. "Yo, Alek!" I called out. He turned around and smiled. When I reached him, I smacked his arm very hard. "We seriously need to talk about you breaking into my house!" I said.

"Sorry, I had to let you know." He said.

"Well, how about a freaking call!" I said. I narrowed my eyes and waited for his come-back.

He shrugged and ignored the main point. "Did you call him yet?" he asked.

"I don't have his number." I said matter-of-factly. He rolled his eyes at this.

"I have my phone in my coat pocket. I'll get it to you in a while." He said and walked away.

I swear, sometimes this guy could be so annoying. He's still awesome though.

I was having my brake when Alek's phone rang. He looked at the screen and rolled his eyes. No doubt it was Dimitri. Alek listened and 'mm-h'd every now and then. He chuckled soon and handed the phone over to me. I raised my eyebrow and took it.

"Hello?"

"Rose...it's Dimitri. I sent a message to Alek for you to call me, but you never did. Did he tell you? Did something happen? Are you alright?" I stopped him right there. He was overreacting.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, stop worrying, please. I couldn't call you due to not having your number." I explained and heard his sigh of releaf.

"Well, good. Then I guess I'll just have to give it to you." He purred. I laughed. He actually went from panicked, to flirting. It sounded amusing.

I told my friends I'd be back soon and went to the other room next to the staff lounge and closed the door. It was a little changing room. "I miss you, you know." I said.

"I miss you too, Roza. I can't wait to return to you so we can be together. I've been gone only for a day and I'm already extremely bored. Lissa has been keeping me busy, as has Rosie, but I'd still rather be with you." He said. I 'awe'd and so wished I could kiss him right now. He was so sweet sometimes.

"I so want to be with you too. I've had a busy day as well. I went to the gym yesterday. A kid came up to me asking if I would teach him self-defence. Now I'll be teaching him every week. Don't you think that's cool?"

He didn't have the chance to anwser, because Lissa was yelling for him. "Dimitri, who are you talking to?" she asked. The last thing I heard was a simple 'I have to go' and the phone went dead. I frowned and closed the phone. I walked back to the lounge room to see everyone looking at me expectantly.

"What?" I asked innocently and left for work.

The rest of the day was uneventful. It was just the same as before and Alek came to hang out at my place after work. We just talked, nothing else. Vic said he'd come around also, but he got strangely sick so quick right before, so he couldn't do so. When he had called, I wished him good luck and told him I hoped he'd get well soon. I was also planning on sending a 'get well' card. What would he think if I did? I think he'd like it.

"Well, I need to head off." Alek said, standing up from the couch.

I walked him to the door and watched him leave. It was ten o'clock already. I'd have to go to sleep now. I took a long shower and took my time. I put on my flannel pajamas and tied my hair up in a ponytail. I'd have to go shopping some time. I wanted to have something sexy to wear for Dimitri when he came. I didn't have anything here since I haven't needed anything. Now I did, so I had to go and buy something. And maybe I'll ask Christy with me as well.

I had a few days, so, we'll see. She loves to go shopping, so we'd have a lot of fun. Besides, it has been a while since we last were shopping. She would be happy about me suddenly asking her out - in a non-creepy way. She was one of my best friends and I had to make sure I had time for her as well.

I snuggled under my covers and fell asleep an hour later exactly. I counted.

The next day at work was very annoying.

My friends, - meaning Jake and Christy - wouldn't stop bugging me about the phone call. They wanted to know who I was talking to. They even suspected a secret lover. Oh, if only they knew. But I bet Vic knew who it was. He should've been at home, but he came to work anyway, he was sick after all. Vic was there that day and he saw us. So luckily he was on my side and tried telling the others to stop bugging me. Of course that didn't end up well.

"Guys, let her be. If she doesn't want to say anything, she doesn't need to." Vic said.

"Why are you on her side anyway? Aren't you interested about who was calling her? Knowing you for six years, I know you'd be all up in her grill right now." Jake said back. Oh, burn!

"Yeah, even I know that. Seriously, what's wrong with you?" Christy asked, then gasped. She pointed a finger at Vic accusingly. "Unless you already know! You know, don't you? You're both in on this. Well, gee, thanks a lot, _friends _for letting us in on the secret!" she said and glared.

"Yeah, thanks." Jake muttered and glared as well. They both walked away angry.

So, yeah, it didn't go so well. Now the both of them are mad at Vic and I and are not talking to us. Whenever we pass by, all we see is glares...glares, glares, and more glares. They are treating us like their enemy. Honestly, I think they're overreacting. They are acting so immature. But I won't fret about that right now. At the moment, I'm waiting for a phone call. Guess who? You guessed it, Dimitri.

Speak of the god, my phone rang and it didn't even take a second until I had the phone in my ear. "Dimitri?" I asked.


	15. Chapter 15

Many of you thought Lissa would be calling :D That would've been a good idea, but too obvious. So just saying.

Hey, I updated faster this time! That's because I HAVE NO MORE SCHOOL WORK. I only have a week left for school, and the last week has all kinds of exceptions for us 9th graders :) For us, because we're graduating from comprehensive school! Finally. Then comes summer :) I'm going to Pennsylvania! Awesome, right? I think so.

I staid up last night, and thought I'd write the next chapter then. I watched Eurovision, and didn't feel really tired after that.

Have a nice day!

Enjoy,

* * *

"Hey, little dhampir," someone said and I immediately knew who it was.

"Adrian, where is Dimitri?" I asked in a some-what annoyed tone.

"He's right here, but I wanted to talk to you." He said. "When are you coming for a little visit?" he asked. I didn't miss the tone of his voice.

"Alright, that's enough, give me the phone Ivashkov!" Dimitri growled from next to Adrian. They argued for a few seconds, and I was getting very impatient. Adrian was a very stubborn person even after so many years. But he sounded a little more agressive though. He used to be calm and joking. He still is.

"Sorry, my lovely Rose, but your Russian lover is making me hand the phone over to him." Adrian said overdramatically. I laughed and told him to give Dimtiri the phone. Adrian said bye and the line went dead.

"Hello?" I tried saying. All I heard was the continuing beeps. I growled and pushed the red phone button. As I did, my phone rang again and I didn't think twice on answering. "Dimitri?" I asked.

"Rose?" Someone asked.

I almost choked when I heard the voice I wasn't expecting to hear. I completely froze up and couldn't say a word. I thought of my options on what to do. "Rose, is that you?" he asked again. I don't know why, but I cracked. I had to say something to him.

"Yeah, it's me." I answered in defeat.

"Rose!" Christian yelled. I shushed him and told him to keep it quiet. "Don't worry, Lissa isn't here. She's out with Ro-" he stopped mid-sentence. "I mean, with a friend." he corrected.

I sighed." It's okay, Christian. I know you guys have a daughter." I said.

"Oh...well, that's cool. Well, she's out with Rosie right now, she's not home. I wasn't supposed to be here either, so, apparently, Dimitri and Adrian took the advantage and called you. I just happened to overhear. I came back to get something." He explained.

"Alright...so how are you?" I asked.

"I'm doing great, better. We've all missed you a lot, Rose. Even I have missed you. Normally I wouldn't have admitted anything like that, but I have matured a lot since we last saw each other. Lissa has missed you as well. More than anyone. Actually, Belikov has missed you the most, but anyway, I miss you. Lissa has told Rosie a lot of stories about you, you know. She decided she wanted to have her best friend in her daughters life, and wanted her to know you. That's going quite well. Rosie asks to hear a story every night before she goes to sleep." He said and chuckled.

Tears prickled in my eyes as he spoke. I can't belive that Lissa has told Rosie about me that much. She was truly a best friend. I was becoming more and more determined to go see them all. I couldn't deny it any longer. I will go next week with Dimitri, after the weekend is over. I know he will be over-joyed.

"That's so sweet of her." I whispered.

"It is, but I have to go, Rose. Please, promise to come see us, please?" he pleaded. It was unusual for Christian to be pleading, from me! But he was right, I guess. He has matured a lot.

"I promise, I'll come soon." I said.

"Good. We all miss you, Rose, bye." He said and hung up.

"Why does everyone keep hanging up on me!" I growled.

I shut my phone again and sat down on my bed. The decision was final, there was no backing down anymore. I just promised Christian that I would go, so I have to. Otherwise they'll come here. I rather not have them here. But, next week. Next week, when Dimitri leaves, I will leave with him.

My phone ringed again. I rolled my eyes and answered it with a bored tone.

"What, not happy to talk to me?" Dimitri asked.

I laughed and said: "I'm sorry. I've already gotten my hopes up twice, and that's enough."

"Well, it's me now." He said.

The sun was setting. Dimtiri had hung up only a while ago. I went into the kitchen and prepared some dinner. I was hungry and I felt like eating pasta. I made the food and put it in the oven. I liked it hot and crispy. I walked to my room to change my clothes into my night clothes. Today, I didn't feel like having a shower or anything. I turned on my radio and turned it up so I could hear it to the kitchen. I leaned on the kitchen counter, waiting for the food to be ready. I tapped my foot on the floor and hummed to the beat of the music. A good song came on and I started singing very loud and moving my hips to the beat. I found myself dancing around the kitchen and singing along. No doubt, my neighbours could hear me.

That's when I smelled the burning smell. I shrieked and cussed as I lunged for the oven. I opened it fast and took out the pasta and set it down on the stove. I waved the coming smoke away and coughed. I looked at my so-called dinner and frowned. My food was burned, damn. I took out a knife and a fork from a drawer and dug into the food, checking if the inside was alright. I let out a breath of relief when I noticed it to be edible. All that was actually burnt was the top.

I ate my dinner with a glass of milk, silently on the kitchen table while listening to the music. Right now, The Scientist was playing. It was a great song, which I liked a lot. I really got into the feel of the music and stopped eating. I listened as the song went on and waited until it finished. I then finished the food left and gulped down he rest of my drink.

My eyes were getting heavier and I was becoming very sleepy. I went into my room, got into bed and turned my night light off. I waited for sleep to take over me. I wanted to sleep without any dreams tonight, but I knew there would be some. I hope they're not nightmares. I didn't feel like waking up in the middle of the night because of something I saw in a dream. I was right when I said I would be having dreams, but they were some strange ones.

I was somewhere. Somewhere sunny and colorful. There was green grass everywhere, cherry blossom trees, little birds flying, singing in the light blue sky where the sun was shining brightly. The wind blew in my hair and I smelt the fresh summer air. This is nice, I thought. I walked along the red brick path I noticed just now, leading to a pond, which had beautiful white swans. A dark green bench appeared next to the pond. I wondered about it for a moment before I sat down and stared straight forward. Only now I noticed I was wearing a red sun dress. It was flowy and the straps went around my neck. I liked it as well.

I've never seen a dream like this, but I really liked it. It was differtent, more light. More relaxing.

It felt like I had fallen asleep on the green bench, because I opened my eyes and I was somewhere else. Not the same place I was before, but another place. I could see a castle from the distance. It was big, and gray. Again, it was very green and the sky was blue with a shining sun. I looked down on what I was wearing and noticed an armor. I was wearing a shiny, metal armor. I was holding a stake in my other hand and a shield in the other. It all seemed strange, but I decided to go with it and go to the castle. Maybe I would find some anwsers from there.

As soon as I came closer, there were some guard on the top of the castle wall. They seemed to realize immediately who I was and opened the gate for me. I shrugged and walked along the big, wooden bridge across the moat. Another guard told me to follow him, and so I did. He led me inside the castle, through various rooms, and through a set of wooden doors. We arrived into a room, that was the size of a ballroom. It was very spacious, with tall windows going from the floor to the roof, and the walls were all white and shiny. From the wondows you could see a beautiful garden. I saw all the different coloured flowers and a beautiful waterfountain that had a woman statue. I even saw a huge maze. There was a red carpet leading to the front of the room where it held three set of thrown seats. I suspected a king, queen and a princess.

We waited for a moment until the royalties came from the side of the room, from behind the seats. The king walked out with his queen, who sat on the left side of the king. And a few seconds later, a prince walked out and sat on the right side of the king. I was surprised to see the prince. Not only because I was assuming a princess, but because the prince looked so much like Dimitri. The prince who looked like Dimitri kept staring at me with those smouldering brown eyes of his.

"Aah, Rosemarie Hathaway, it is so nice to have you here in our castle." The king announced.

I bowed slightly. "It's nice to be here, my king." I said. I raised my head back up and saw the king smiling.

"So, let us go through this again. You shall travell to east and search for the undead, kill them, and come back. And as your reward, you will get a thousand gold pieces, and get to marry my son, Dimitri. Is that okay?" he asked, but I couldn't answer. I was shocked to hear what I did. I didn't show it on the outside, but it most definitely showed in the inside. I sneaked a glance towards Dimitri and he was smiling at me.

"I will take the gold pieces, but the marriage proposal isn't necessary." I said and smiled. I chastised myself mentally for saying that. I must be crazy not to want to marry Dimitri.

"Nonsence!" the king yelled. "He has already accepted and so have I." He said. I glanced at Dimtiri again, and he winked at me. I raised my eyebrows, but let it go.

"Very well, then." I said.

I didn't get to see what happened next, because my alarm clock went off. It was a new day and I had to get up for work. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to finish my dream. I would've wanted to know what would've happened, it seemed interesting.

Instead of fretting about the dream, I got up and got ready for work. I picked out clothes to wear and went for a quick shower. I dressed up and ate breakfast. I still had some time, so I thought I'd put on just a little make-up and put my hair up in a bun. I was wearing a pair of jeans and a grey T-shirt. I put my spring jacket on and left my house. I got in my car and took off. I was ten minutes early. And so was Christy. I bit my lips in thought of telling her or not. I didn't want her to be mad at me because of a stupid thing as this.

I walked over to her in the staff room and sat down on the couch next to her. "Hey," I murmured. She didn't answer, she was just silent and looked away from me. "Chrissy, listen, I really don't want you to be mad at me. You're one of my best friends and I need you and your support, please."

Christy's face faltered for a second and she eventually turned her head to look at me. She was frowning. "Tell me." She said.

"I'm dating someone." I said. She looked surprised hearing this.

"Seriosuly? I have never seen you on one date, and suddeny you're dating someone?" she asked incredilously. I nodded. "Well, who is he? Where did you guys meet? How'd it happed?" she asked all of the guestions in one breath.

"Please, one question at a time. I actually new him from my past. We used to have feelings for each other then, but it didn't quite work out at the time. He's now here and we just got together some days ago." I explained. Christy's face showed understandment and she smiled then.

"Well, I'm happy for you, and I'm happy that you decided to tell me." She said and hugged me. "I missed you, Rose!" she said laughing.

I pulled away and laughed as well. "I'm glad you're not mad anymore. Now I can ask you to come shopping with me. I know we haven't had any girl time in a while, so I'm asking you out now." I said.

Christy wiggled her eyebrows. "Ooh, asking me out, eye? Won't your boyfriend get jealous?" she teased. I laughed again and gave her a small push.

"Ooh, he will get very jealous." I said.

We both laughed and got to work.

Alek came up to me later that day when I was having lunch. I was sitting outside Wal-Mart on a bench eating a sandwich with some orange juice when he came out and sat beside me.

"Hey, how are you?" he asked.

"I'm doing pretty good. Christy and I made up, she's no longer mad at me." I said and smiled towards him.

"That's nice. So what's this I hear about Dimitri coming over for the weekend?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Nothing really. We wanted to spend the weekend together, so I invited him over to my place. I was actually thinking of...well, going back to court with him...to, you know, see everyone." I said and looked up at his surprised expression.

"Wow, Rose, that's great. So you're finally going." he mused. "So hod did Dimitri react?" he asked and grinned.

"Uh-huh, well he doesn't know yet. I'm going to tell him when he comes." I said.

"I get to go too, right?" he asked. I laughed and told him 'of course'.

Again later that day I was waiting for Christy in front of her house, sitting in my car on the driveway. When I called that I was almost there, she had said that she was almost done. Now it has been twenty minutes, and she still isn't here. She takes forever to get ready!

Luckily, she just walked out of the front door before I was getting way too impatient. She looked all dolled up with her straight blond hair, make up and light blue dress. She got in the car and I drove off.

We shopped pretty much the rest of the day. We went into every store, but we saved the best for last: Victoria's secret. I wanted to find some very sexy underwear for Dimtiri. I had a feeling that this was the weekend. I looked around the story and found a very sexy piece of lingerie on a doll. It was black and lacy, perfect. I was walking over to a shop assistant who I would ask help from, when I heard her. I stopped mid-track and turned around in a whiff. My eyes opened up and I looked for a place to hide. I quickly got behind a clothes rack. I studied the person I saw. She didn't seem to see me, so I was safe. But I definitely saw her. She was looking around the store at random lingeries. I was almost disgusted when I saw the stuff she was looking at. I almost wanted to go over and give her some advice.

I frozed up when she walked right in front of the rack I was hiding in. She looked through a few clothes and almost got to me, but she gave up just in time. She sighed and walked to the cashier. I then decided I didn't want to stay where I was any longer, so I stood up and made a run for it, but not before I heard Christy calling my name, so loud, that my mother could hear.

I didn't hesitate, but started running without a glance back. I really didn't want to face my mother now. No doubt would I get a nice yelling from her. I ended up in an elevator that went to the second floor. I sighed in relief as if I had gotten away, but surprise surprise, guess who was standing right there when the doors of the elevator opened. My mother: Janine Hathaway. I smiled sheepishly and got out. No point in running anymore, right?

"Rose, is that really you?" she asked in disbelief. It sounded like she didn't believe it was me. She looked like she was trying to convince herself it was me, but I guess my confirmation confirmed her thoughts.

"Yes, Janine, it's me." I said. She surprised me by hugging me so tight, I could barely breathe. I was mostly expecting her to choke me to death, but I guess I was wrong. She pulled away and I saw a tear leak from her eye. Surprised, I wiped it away with my thumb. She looked horrified that she had started crying, so she pulled away fast and wiped her face clean before clearing her throat and starting to talk.

"How are you here, Rosemarie? We thought you were gone. Why did you leave? What happened!" she asked all the questions so fast, I barely heard them all.

"Realx, I can explain, but, just not here, okay?" I asked her, unsure what she would say. "We can meet up tom-" I stopped myself before I would say tomorrow. Tomorrow is Saturday, Dimtiri will be coming then. "Um, I mean, you can come over later tonight. I'm at the moment with a friend of mine, okay?" I asked again. She thought for a moment staring me down, obviously wanting answers right now, but instead she agreed on the later and I gave her my address where I told her to come about nine-ish.

I walked back to Victoria's secret to find Christy sitting on a couch looking through a magazine. Her head snapped up as she heard my approach. She stormed over to me and immediately started questioning me with a furious expression. "Rose, who was that? Why did you run away?" she asked me. I told her to follow me, which she did. We got to the food court where we both bought something to eat. I walked us to a table where no one could hear us. I didn't like unknown people knowing my business.

"So, the woman you saw run after me...she is my mother, Janine Hathaway. The reason I ran was because of her. I didn't want her to see me. You see, she is a person from my past. Belive me, when I say: What happened back then cannot be explained and understood, alright? So, please, just let it be." I said with pleading eyes.

She frowned, but nodded anyway. I could tell she understood the seriousness of what I said. We finished eating and headed home after that. I said bye to Christy and almost told her 'see you on Monday', but I wasn't going to be here on Monday. So instead, I grabbed her hand before she could leave and decided to tell her the truth.

"Christy, I won't be here on Monday. I'm leaving for a little while. I don't know when I will be back, but I will, I promise."

"But where are you-"

"I'll promise to tell you everything when I get back." Tell her everything minus the vampire stuff. She nodded and hugged me goodbye.

I was surprised to see my mother sitting on the stony stairs of my house when I parked on the driveway. She stood up and dusted off herself. I locked the car and walked towards her. "Someone's too excited." I commented. All she did was smile at me. I almost cracked out then shock I held inside, but didn't.

I opened the door and let her in in front of me. I took off my shoes and turned on some lights. I went into my room to set all my things down on my desk and walked back out. I saw Janine still standing at the same spot, studying the place, unsure of what to do.

"You can come in, you know." I stated. She flinched and looked at me seeming to be a little embarrassed. She walked up the stairs to the living room. She sat on the couch. I sat down next to her, waiting for her to start talking, which she did.

"What happened that day, Rose?" she asked.

I didn't hesitate answering her. I told her what happened after spokane, where I ended up and what I've been up to. She was my mother, and she did want to know. There is no point in hiding anymore. All I left out was the other three who knew of me. If she asked though, I might have to tell her. She was shocked to say the least.

Before she could say anything, my doorbell rang and I thought who the hell would be coming at this time?

I excused myself and walked over to the door. When I opened it, I opened it to a smiling Dimitri. I was surprised for the secong time today. "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to come tomorrow?" I asked in a low voice so Janine wouldn't hear me.

"Sorry, I just thought-" I shushed him and told him to talk lower. "Rose, what's going on?" he whispered. I bit my lip and was about to answer when I heard Janine from behind me.

"Belikov, what are you doing here?" she asked. I moaned in disturbance. Damn it.

* * *

I feel like my writing is getting sloppy. Do you think so?

The dreams were random, but I just felt like it :)

Hope you liked it,

Peace out,

Alex

P.S. I have no idea what day it is in the story, so I'm just going straight to Friday.

And if anyone knows what Chrsty looks like, can you tell me?

I know, I created her, and I don't remember what she looks like. I _have_ written what she looks like, right?


	16. Chapter 16

How did you celebrate 4th of July? We went for a picnic and watched the fireworks later in the evening. They weren't as good as last night though. But so much better than in Finland!

Sorry for the lack of updating. I thought, since it's summer, that I'd have more time to write, but as it turns out, I haven't had much time at all. I've been going and going. And I saw Eclipse yesterday (": It was good, but not good enough. Definitely wouldn't give it 5 stars. And most definitely wouldn't say it's the best movie of the summer, like the trailer on TV says.

Anyway, I have the next chapter here. Tell me what you think, please. I can't say, again, that I'm fully satisfied on this chapter, but I can say that I'm enough satisfied to publish it.

Just enjoy,

* * *

"Belikov, what are you doing here?" my mother asked from behind me. She sounded a little mad if I heard right.

"Janine, what are _you_ doing here?" Dimitri asked back. The both of them looked at each other, and back and forth, glancing at me as well. I sighed and told them to quit it.

"Come in, Dimitri, so you don't have to stand there all night." I mumbled. I sighed and told them to go in the living room, me behind them. Janine and Dimitri were sitting on the other couch, and I was sitting alone on the other. It was awkward for a moment before someone decided to say something.

"What are you doing here Belikov?" Janine asked him again.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. Janine stared at him incredulously and waited for him to elaborate. So was I actually. "I'm obviously here to see Rose." He explained.

Janine sighed in frustration and rephrased the question. "Belikov, how did you know where she is?" she asked again.

"I've known for a long time. She has known I have known. Adrian saw her one day, he told me. Now here I am." He said. Dimitri seemed changed. He isn't the same guardian he was so long time ago.

Janine was staring intently at Dimitri now. "Belikov, do you remember what we talked about back then?" she asked Dimitri. At this point, I was confused. Dimitri merely nodded his head. "Good. I thought you'd have some level of respect towards me and grant my wishes if this one particular thing ever happened." She continued.

"Would someone like to explain what is going on?" Of course no one answered me. They both ignored my question.

"That is not possible Janine. Do you remember what _I _talked about back then?" Dimitri had raised his voice slightly now. I was afraid this argument would go into a fight.

"Yes, Belikov, I do remember, thank you. I'd say it's absolutely possible. There is no such thing as impossible." She said with a raised voice as well. I was fuming by now and I couldn't just sit there when the two of them were arguing like this.

I got up from the couch and stood in front of Janine and Dimitri. "Please, tell me what is going on and what you two are talking about." I tried saying as calmly as I could.

Dimitri glanced at me with furrowed eyebrows, but Janine kept her eyes on Dimitri with a mad look. Dimitri turned back to look at Janine and started talking again. "Janine...you remember how I was. You remember how I acted, and you remember what I told you. I will only say this once again: I love Rose, with all my heart. I've loved her during these past years, hoping, just hoping, she'd come home one day. When she was gone, I was a wreck, and you saw it, you were there. So don't tell me to stay away from her, because that won't happen in a lifetime. And I know for a fact that she loves me as well." Dimitri paused and looked at me again, but this time with a loving glance. "You can't tell us not to be together and not be happy. It's what we want. It's what she wants. Don't you want your daughter to be happy?" he asked Janine.

I studied Janine's reaction to Dimitri's speech carefully. She was wearing the guardian mask she used to wear so often, just like Dimitri, but it was beginning to falter, just a bit, where you could see a little bit of emotion. It was there, it was always there, but it just could not be seen. She frowned then and seemed deep in thought. Then she sighed and looked at both of us, but rested her gaze on Dimitri.

"I see where you come from. I did see the way you were, and I do remember what you said. I can see that you do love her so much, and there isn't much I can do about that. Even I said no, it wouldn't make a difference, I guess."

"No, it wouldn't." I interrupted. I mumbled a sorry and let her continue.

"No, it wouldn't. I also do know that you, Belikov, haven't been with any women during these years, which I find strange." Janine said and coughed. "Tasha Ozera tried various times to get your interest in her, but failed miserably. Obviously you care for Rose. I see it now. I'm sorry for what I said as well." Janine said. I was surprised and happy at the same time. She approved, but before, she didn't? And wait, she knew about us?

"Wait, what exactly happened here?" I asked, still feeling confused.

"You're mother just admitted her mistake and approves of us." Dimitri told me smiling. He took a hold of my hand and pulled me down to sit on his lap. He put his hands around my waist and held me close. I held my hand around his neck as I saw my mom smiling at us warmly. Maybe she was genuinely happy for us.

"I wanted to catch up with Rose, but I think I'd be best if I left now." Janine said and stood up to leave. When she had put her shoes on and was just about to leave, I stopped her and ran over to her.

"Um, actually, I, if you don't mind, I'd really like to catch up with you too." I said and tried giving her a small smile. She gave me one back and hugged me. I hugged her back, and at the same time, fought the tears building up.

"I would really love that, Rose." She whispered.

"Bye mom." I whispered.

She pulled away and looked like she was about to cry again too. "Bye." She said and left.

I walked back to the couch feeling much better now that I had confronted my mother, all ending well. I sat down next to Dimitri, who pulled me to him so I had my head on his chest. He rubbed my back soothingly and I closed my eyes and enjoyed our moment.

I think I fell asleep, because when I woke up, the sun was shining through the window of my room and it was eight thirty in the morning. I sat up and yawned loudly. I didn't see Dimitri. I got up from bed, noticing I had on my night clothes. He must have changed my clothes when I was asleep. Kinda creepy. I got up from bed and walked out of my room. As soon As I opened my door, I smelt a heavenly smell of pancakes. I smiled to myself as I peeked through the open kitchen door. There he was in all of his beauty. He didn't even seem to notice me. He was whistling to a tune as he made pancakes and made something that smelt like hot chocolate. I smiled to myself as I remembered the time we shared a hot cup of hot chocolate at St. Vladimir's when it was winter.

I hadn't noticed me chuckling out loud until Dimitri suddenly turned with a hilariously surprised expression to look at me. I smiled, walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He kissed my forehead softly with his lips and finished making the pancakes at the same time. He set them down on the dining table where lay two plates, mugs, forks and knives, and fresh red roses in the middle of the table. Dimitri really went all the way to make me happy. I didn't mind, of course.

"It looks great." I said.

"Of course it does, I made it." He said and walked past me with a funny grin. He pulled out a chair for me.

"Conceited much?" I commented as I sat down. Dimitri sat down opposite me on the other side.

"I guess I got it from you." He said. I had that look on my face that said, 'oh no you didn't'. "Oh, yes I did." He said grinning, like he could read my mind. Now I was glaring at him, but I couldn't keep doing so for too long.

Dimitri asked how many pancakes I wanted. I told him to give me one first, then I can take more if the pancakes were really as good as they smelled. Dimitri looked at me the whole time until I finally took a bite out of the pancake covered in maple syrup and whip cream. I think I just found heaven, because this pancake is just heavenly. Dimitri heard my small moaning and chuckled.

"Good, eh?" he asked.

I shook my head at him and hid the smile on my lips.

When I was almost finished with my third pancake, he started talking. "So," he started, "I was thinking..." Oh, this must not be good. "As much as I hate to say this, I thought, maybe you'd like to spend some time with Adrian, because he sure does with you." He said. I only stared at him, just waiting for him to continue. "I need time to...set things up here, so he suggested he could take you out for a while. He kept bugging me about not seeing you in so many years, not counting the dreams, and thought this would be a good chance for that." Dimitri finished, looking down.

I could tell he obviously didn't like the idea of Adrian and I alone somewhere. I got up and sat on his lap. He took me open arms and looked up at me. I kissed him for a moment then pulled away. "I can tell you don't like this revelation, but I really appreciate you trying. It means a lot to me. I'm going to go out with Adrian, but know this: you have nothing to worry about. Adrian's nothing compared to you." I said.

He smiled lovingly at me and kissed me again. "Thank you, Roza. I do know I have nothing to worry about. After everything, I know you would never pick Ivashkov over me." He said and smirked. I laughed and pushed him just a little. "Just stating the truth."

I knew he was telling the truth, because that's just what I feel. I would never in this world pick anyone over Dimitri.

"Um..." Dimitri blurted. "Adrian actually called in the early morning. He told me to tell you to get ready to go at noon." He said. I checked the clock and I had about an hour and a half to get ready.

"I better get ready." I said. I got up and I started to pick up my plates, but Dimitri stopped me saying that he'd clean them up and not to worry. So I headed straight to my room to get my stuff and went to take a shower. After my fifteen minute shower I got dressed in a pair of jeans and a green T-shirt. I fought with the thought of putting on make-up, and decided to just go with some light blush and mascara. I didn't really need make-up, being the natural beauty I am. Maybe that sounded a bit self-centered...

When I got out, I walked back to the kitchen and saw Dimitri leaning on the kitchen table sipping a cup of coffee. He smiled at me when I walked in. "You look very beautiful." He said. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He put the coffee cup back down and put his hands on either side of my face. I leaned forward and kissed him before he could kiss me. To my disappointment though, he pulled away fast with a disappointed look.

"That was my kiss, not yours." He said. I laughed and kissed him again. This time he didn't turn it down, but kissed me back.

It felt like too soon that the doorbell rang. At the moment I didn't want to leave him here alone to do who knows what, but he said he needed time for preparations and I did want to see Adrian too. I've only seen him in my dreams, but not in real life for too long. I've grown to like him. I missed him too, just like everyone else.

I said I'd get the door. I pulled away from Dimitri and headed for the door. I stopped right in front of it taking a breath in and then opening the door. I saw him standing there in all his cockiness. He had the same familiar grin plastered on his face, the same green eyes and tousled brown hair. He was wearing dark jeans and a light blue button up. He had a single Rose in his right hand. I grinned and threw myself around him, hugging him like I haven't seen him in forever. The thought of Dimitri possibly not liking me hugging Adrian surpassed my mind for a second as I concentrated on this handsome young man in front of me. He was happy to see me too as he hugged me tighter, careful not to damage the beautiful Rose in his hand.

When I pulled away, he handed the Rose to me. I sniffed it and smiled. It smelled wonderful.

"A beautiful Rose, to a beautiful Rose." He said. I chuckled and shoved him just a little. He looked past me and gave a small nod of is head. "Belikov." He said.

"Ivashkov." Dimitri said back from behind me. He was now standing right behind me.

"Don't start anything." I said turning around to face Dimitri. "Now, we'll be leaving now. I'll be back around six, is that okay?" I asked. He didn't answer me, but he smiled and pulled me to him and kissed me. I could imagine Adrian rolling his eyes at this point. It just seemed natural. Dimitri pulled away when Adrian yelled from behind me for us to get a room.

"Oh, shut up." I said.

There was a limo waiting for us when we walked out of the house. Typical Adrian, I thought. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, but the drive took forever. He took out a bottle of champagne out of a small fridge and poured it in two glasses. "Adrian, seriously?" I asked.

"Why not?" he answered and smirked.

We talked a lot about what has been going on in our lives. Apparently Adrian has been going out with someone no one knows about. I was shocked for him to say this. I would've thought he would have told every one about her the first day. We're all full of surprises, aren't we. He also told me about his wild adventures in Las Vegas. Right Before Lissa and Christian got married, Adrian took him and Eddie, Christian's best man, - Adrian was offended by that - to Las Vegas for Christian's bachelor party. Adrian told me everything they did and went through on that day. It was hilarious to say the least. Well, the Adrian part was hilarious. He had gotten rarely drunk that night. He ended up being married to a stripper. But that happens all the time there, right? But they got divorced a few days later.

The limo stopped and we stepped out. I was kind of surprised where we were. We were in Dorney Park. "Adrian, seriously?" I asked like I had earlier.

"Why not enjoy ourselves while we still can?" he said and shrugged.

Yeah, why not? But I couldn't help but think about what he said.

_Why not enjoy ourselves while we still can._


End file.
